|
Peel Energy, the company behind proposals to submit a planning application for a new biomass energy plant at Corpach Harbour in Fort William, has welcomed the response from the local community to its recent consultation events.
The two public exhibitions held in Treslaig and Banavie this week were organised to enable local residents and other interested parties to gain a more detailed understanding about the proposed Corpach Biomass Energy Plant (CBEP).
The events also gave people the opportunity to ask members of the Peel Energy team and its specialist consultants any questions they had about the proposals.
Jonathan Burley, Peel Energy’s Development Manager, said: “We would like to thank all those who attended the exhibitions. We were very pleased at the number of people from the local community who came along and took the opportunity to discuss our plans with us in more detail.
“These events are an important part of the consultation process and we greatly appreciate the time people have taken to visit the exhibitions and the valuable feedback they provided. We saw around 200 people over the two days and afterwards they were invited to fill in a questionnaire. Further analysis of the results is required, but well over half the people who responded were in favour of the broad proposal for Corpach with less than a quarter being against. While this is very pleasing, we are fully aware that further consultation with the local community is required - people are not saying the project is perfect but it is good to see that most take a balanced view of the benefits it could bring, such as employment for local people and investment in their community.”
“Although we do not plan to submit a formal planning application until next year, Peel Energy views consultation with the community as an ongoing process and we will continue to keep people informed as our proposals progress.”
The proposed CBEP would produce electricity for the national grid using around 250,000 tonnes of timber each year to generate heat and drive a steam turbine. It is proposed that the fuel for the plant would be wood derived from forestry and forest industries in Scotland, taking advantage of the site’s excellent transport links.
The scheme would generate enough electricity to meet the average needs of approximately 37,000 homes – equivalent to more than one-third of the homes in the Highland Council region. The plant would also be able to provide renewable heat that could be utilised by industry, businesses and housing in the area.
Further information on the project is available at www.peelenergy.co.uk/cbep including a feedback questionnaire. Questions and comments are also welcomed via e-mail to energy@peel.co.uk or by post to Peel Energy, Peel Dome, The Trafford Centre, Manchester, M17 8PL.
|
