'Cheaper and better' alternative to Beauly-Denny power line proposed

Published on Monday 23 February 2009 22:51

THE former chairman of ScottishPower has called for SNP ministers to consider an alternative to the controversial proposals to upgrade a power line from Beauly to Denny.

Sir Donald Miller, who spent 25 years as director of engineering, and ten years as chairman of ScottishPower, said he has drawn up an alternative which would be cheaper, and far less controversial.

Instead of replacing the power lines through the middle of the country, it would involve upgrading the east coast transmission lines.

Scottish & Southern Energy's proposals for the upgrade to the Beauly to Denny transmission line have attracted more than 17,000 objections.

The 137-mile, 400,000-volt overhead electricity transmission line, which would replace the 132,000-volt line between Beauly, west of Inverness, and Denny, west of Falkirk, has been the subject of a 10 million public inquiry, the findings of which have been passed to the Scottish Government.

The proposers say the line is crucial to take power from green energy developments in the Highlands and Islands to markets in the south.

However, opponents say it would involve some 600 huge pylons – each 200ft high – and these would ruin the natural beauty of the Great Glen.

Over the past two months, Sir Donald has prepared his alternative vision for the improvement of the transmission network, which he posted to Jim Mather, the energy minister, yesterday morning.

Instead of replacing power lines, it would mainly make use of existing cables around the east coast, which could be upgraded to increase their capacity. Only one new power line would have to be built, from Beauly to Keith, and this would run mainly through farmland, rather than sensitive areas. Sir Donald calculated his alternative could cost about 10 per cent less, at about 300 million.

"It does exactly what they are trying to do with the Beauly-Denny line," he said.

"It avoids running this rather large transmission line along what is the main access route to the Highlands. That's not insignificant.

"But they seem to be so hellbent on the Beauly to Denny line and not willing to consider anything else. I can't understand it. It's amazing to me."

Helen McDade, head of policy at the John Muir Trust, a charity that campaigns to protect wild places in Scotland, said she supported Sir Donald's proposals.

"Although it would need some new line, it would not be nearly as expensive or damaging as Beauly-Denny," she said.

"Most of that would go through farmland, which would be better than going through the national park."

Ms McDade believes there has not been a strategic analysis of the best option for upgrading the transmission network, and thinks it is now essential that the Scottish Government considers Sir Donald's proposals, even though they have been submitted after the public inquiry into the Beauly-Denny line closed.

However, Jason Ormiston, the chief executive of Scottish Renewables, said:

"If Scotland wants to make a full contribution to tackling climate change then there will be a need for both Beauly-Denny and any east coast reinforcements."

A spokeswoman for Scottish & Southern Energy said: "The report has been put in to Scottish ministers now. We always said that the forum for any arguments around Beauly-Denny was the public inquiry."

A Scottish Government spokesman said: "We have yet to receive any correspondence from Sir Donald Miller. The report of the public local inquiry into the upgrade of the Beauly-Denny line is being considered by ministers, who will take a final decision later this year."