SSE to hold further public consultation on controversial Gordonbush Wind Farm hydrogen production plan: 'We will have more definitive answers'
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SSE Renewables have pledged to consult the local community again before submitting a planning application for an experimental green hydrogen hub at Gordonbush Wind Farm, Strath Brora.
The commitment came at a meeting of Brora Community Council last week at which a six-strong team from the power giant, including hydrogen hub project manager Richard Hearnden, was present.
A planned slide presentation failed to materialise due to technical difficulties, but the team spoke about the controversial project to community councillors and around 18 members of the public.
SSE has already lodged an application for hazardous substance consent to produce and store green hydrogen. Some 19 objections have been made.
The proposal has met with concern locally with fears over the volatility of the gas and the potential for an explosion, as well as the impact of transporters on the fragile, single-track Strath Brora road which is well used by walkers, cyclists, paddleboarders and others.
At last week’s meeting, Mr Hearnden said a number of changes had been made as a result of feedback from a previous community consultation.
The number of lorries travelling to and from the plant had been reduced from eight a day to four or five; a planned battery system for the storage of hydrogen had been removed from the planning application and the use of lye/caustic soda dropped from the production process.
But Mr Hearnden could not give specifics over issues such as what tonnage the lorries would be, whether the road would be widened, where water for the hydrogen process would be sourced from and discharged into, or the extent of the "blast zone".
He said studies were currently ongoing into transportation, ecology, noise, habitat management and hydrology, and an environmental impact assessment would be produced.
“We will host a second public exhibition when we will have more definitive answers before a planning submission,” he said.
Asked about the prospect of employment for young people, Mr Hearnden said the facility would be autonomous, but skilled drivers and maintenance engineers would be needed. A session on the “benefits of hydrogen” had already been held at Golspie High School.
Richard Mowat, whose home at Ascoile is one of the closest to the wind farm, said: “I think it is obvious to all of us residents here that this is a totally inappropriate location for a large industrial plant.”
Community councillor Diana Royce said SSE needed to “fully understand the amenity and scenic value of the Strath Brora road".
