A “FARCE” of a green energy development will destroy a valuable peat carbon store and create a flood risk for a village built at the site of an ancient Roman camp, it has been claimed.
Worried residents are calling on Perth and Kinross Council to reject the plans for an upgrade to a substation near Braco which would see tons of peat replaced by tons of concrete on an area the size of 19 football fields.
“To construct this massive plinth of concrete will involve three years of tipper trucks, one moving every four minutes, to extricate the peat and replace that void with rocks and rubble from somewhere else in Scotland,” said nearby resident Douglas Robertson.
“To add insult to environmental injury, SSEN is proposing to build what is in effect a three-metre-high dam – they call it a haul road for these trucks – which will fully encase the south of Braco, across what SEPA defines to be a ‘high risk’ flood plain.
“Surely Perth and Kinross planning committee will see this is complete madness. A national ‘green energy’ project should not trash this local environment and put both lives and livelihoods at risk.”
Robertson added: “Braco is but one small place, but we are experiencing what so many other small places right across Scotland are experiencing – a big money, big business energy venture which seeks only to profit shareholders, but in doing so leaves us all picking up the costs that will follow on.”
SSEN has submitted two applications for the development – one for the upgrade to the substation and one for a “haul road” which would act as a bypass to the village.
However, protesters fear this is unlikely to be finished before work on the substation begins and claim this means that up to 200 heavy lorries will go through the village on the B8033 and past the school every day.
Opposition group Peat Burns is also concerned about plans from other developers to build 100 battery storage units adjacent to the new substation.
The proposed substation upgrade would see the existing 275kv transformer bumped up to 400kv to accommodate the upgrade in the Beauly/Denny line. The protesters say the Feddal hill site was unsuitable from the outset and was only chosen because wealthy landowners did not want the transformer on their land. They argue the substation would be better placed beside the nearby A9.
“The designers of the new substation seem to have prioritised electrical engineering convenience, without adequately considering visual impact, land use, environmental effects, road safety, noise, light pollution or local community opinions,” said a Peat Burns spokesperson.
The protesters say they recognise the problem of global warming and are not against the idea of green energy but developments need to be planned properly to stop “the ad-hoc nonsense all over Scotland”.
“It is all coming at quite a pace but it needs to be planned properly rather than on the hoof as it seems to be at the moment,” said Robertson. “Why build a road that will create a dam that could flood a village, and why dig out a peat bog and put a plate of concrete on it, using diesel trucks for three years to move material?
“If you support green energy, as I do, this doesn’t fit with it and it makes me really annoyed.”
SSEN proposes to make culverts for water to pass underneath the new road but the protesters say these are completely inadequate, especially as climate change has seen a rise in extreme rainfalls in the area.
A location on a flat site at the A9 where the powerlines cross would give easy access and exclude the need for a long and costly haul road or the industrialisation of a hillside currently covered in two metres of peat, the protestors argue.
“Major earthworks will be needed to blast into and level this hillside and will create a site where noise will travel distances,” said Robertson.
“Substantial felling of trees is also demanded to accommodate the project but the application only commits to replanting a small percentage of those felled. This is at odds with the Scottish Government’s current policy on tree removal.”
A spokesperson for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) said: “SEPA was engaged on this proposal as part of pre-application discussions earlier in the year with Perth and Kinross Council. We advised that further information in relation to flood risk should be provided at the formal application stage to avoid any objection from SEPA.
“We were formally consulted on the planning application by the council on July 23. As per our consultation procedures, we have requested further information from the council.
“If re-consulted, we will assess the application and provide the council with our advice.”
An SSEN Transmission spokesperson said: “Our site selection for Cambushinnie substation and the haul track followed an extensive development process balancing environmental and technical considerations alongside feedback from the local community, with whom we have consulted extensively.
“Our planning application for the haul track includes robust flood mitigation, while our substation application includes a peat management strategy to reuse all excavated peat, including a commitment to create new peatland restoration areas where peat has been displaced.
“While construction traffic will briefly pass through Braco during initial stages of construction, once the haul track is complete it will handle all traffic related to the project, avoiding the village. In the meantime, we’re working with the local authority and other stakeholders to ensure traffic safety during its construction.
“The Cambushinnie substation is a key part of our proposed Beauly to Denny overhead line upgrade from 275kV to 400kV operation, that will help achieve national energy security and clean power ambitions while supporting jobs and economic activity locally and across the north of Scotland.
“We would like to thank all those who provided feedback, which has been key in helping shape proposals for the substation and associated haul track.”
