A COMMUNITY council has warned of “catastrophic consequences” if a large-scale power plant gets the go-ahead in Beattock without proper safety measures being put in place.
Members of Kirkpatrick Juxta Community Council have formally objected to a planning application for the construction of a battery storage facility on land at Milton Farm.
They are worried about the potential of an explosion or water contamination due to dozens of lithium-ion batteries being located on farmland – particularly as fire service chiefs in other parts of the UK have warned about potential dangers of these renewable energy storage facilities.
Three residents who live nearby have also objected, stating: “This development present serious risks to those living in the vicinity (more than 20 properties).
“The location of the site on a flood plain increases the risk.”
Milton Farm Energy Park Limited, a private company based in Glasgow, has submitted plans to Dumfries and Galloway Council to install the facility which will include a substation, control building, 44 containerised battery storage units, and 11 transformer units surrounded by a two-metre high security fence and six pole-mounted CCTV cameras.
Battery storage plants are a way to stockpile energy from renewable sources and release it when needed.
When the wind blows and the sun shines turbines and solar panels may generate more energy than needed on a particular day.
This excess electricity is then stored as chemical energy, usually inside lithium-ion batteries, so when conditions are calm and overcast it can be sent back into the power grid.
In their objection to the council, Kirkpatrick Juxta Community Council stated: “In the event of the system failing and a fire taking place at this location, the impact could be catastrophic in terms of contamination.
“The fire service should be made a statutory consultee and their recommendations (e.g. that the units should be double the distance apart than they are proposed in this application) strictly adhered to.
“In light of the risks associated with a fire, the developer should be forced to build a bund to capture any potential fallout of contaminated water in order to localise the impact.
“The community council stress that they are not opposed to development but want to promote what they would consider to be good development that complies with the highest standards and regulations.
“The surrounding environment is described as sensitive and if the authority rush this through the system without the extra security measures as specified by the community council, and a fire takes place, then it may be impossible to recover from the damage.”
The application site is part of an open field in the countryside located around two miles south of Moffat between the M74 to the west and River Annan to the east.
Council planning officer Graham Smith has recommended that the development be approved subject to some conditions.
His report explains that access to the site would be gained from Milton Farm along an existing farm track leading to a compound of 12,100 square metres that would comprise of an area of hardstanding on top of a raised platform housing the battery storage facility.
The application will be considered by determined by councillors at the council’s planning committee on Thursday.
