Glenfiddich distillery green energy plans approved

MORAY councillors today approved plans for a green energy plant using waste from one of Speyside’s leading distilleries.

Glenfiddich Distillery, in Dufftown. Picture: Hops_76/Flickr CC

The anaerobic digestion facility at the Glenfiddich Distillery in Dufftown will use spent malted barley and pot ale from the distilling process to produce biogas which will either be injected into the national

gas network, or processed by a number of gas engines to generate electricity.

The new plant at the distillery, owned by William Grant and Sons, will also be used to provide heat and steam for the distillery processes on site.

The facility will be built in the Fiddich valley, north of Dufftown, on a 1.6 hectare site between the Glenfiddich Distillery and the disused Parkmore Distillery.

Neal MacPherson, the council’s Principal Planning Officer, told councillors: “This proposal would see the re-use of by products from the distillation process that would provide and re-use waste and heat, increasing efficiency of the processes at Glenfiddich Distillery, create approximately four new jobs and also provide either electricity or gas that would feed back into the national grid or gas network.”

Committee chairman Councillor Douglas Ross said: “This proposed development has been well managed by the applicant as can be seen by the fact that there were no objections to the plans. They have worked with the council to ensure this energy plant can be approved and built as quickly as possible to start generating electricity from this anaerobic digestion facility.”

He added: “The position of the plant was also sympathetic to the local area and the fact that it will be barely visible to the majority of passers-by is an added bonus given its location near to Dufftown.”