Record 20,000 objections to power station

Controversial plans for a £3 billion power station have attracted more than 20,000 objections, which campaigners claim is a record high for any project in Scotland.

The proposal for Hunterston in North Ayrshire would be the first coal-fired power station built in Scotland since the 1970s, and comes as the nearby Hunterston B nuclear power station is being prepared for decommissioning.

About a quarter of the UK’s ageing fleet of power stations are expected to close over the next 15 years and the firm behind the proposal, Ayrshire Power, says that failing to replace them could jeopardise future electricity supplies and push up bills.

However, environmentalists say the power station would be “climate-wrecking” and could damage a nationally important wildlife site. The Royal Society for the Protection for Birds said more than 74 acres of a coastal site used by tens of thousands of wintering water birds would be “destroyed” if the new power station was built.

Aedán Smith, head of planning and development at RSPB Scotland, said: “I think these figures demonstrate the strength of public feeling against the building of a new Hunterston power station, and the level of local opposition is clear to see.

“We hope that the views of local people will be taken into account when North Ayrshire Council considers its position on the proposals.”

WWF Scotland director Dr Richard Dixon said: “The huge public opposition shows this application should be turned down, especially as we don’t believe it will be built should it be given the go-ahead.”

Cunninghame North SNP MSP Kenneth Gibson added that the strength of feeling emerging from the consultation is a “clear signal” to the council that it should reject the power plant.

Friends of the Earth Scotland, the Scottish Wildlife Trust and Communities Opposed To New Coal At Hunterston were among the other groups that hit out the plans yesterday.

The proposed coal and biomass power plant will use groundbreaking carbon-capture technology to trap a quarter of its harmful greenhouse gas emissions. If successful, the system will be extended to cover all the plant’s emissions.

But plans to install similar technology at the Longannet coal-fired station in Fife are now in doubt over the £1bn cost.

Ayrshire Power says the plant could meet the electricity needs of up to three million homes. The development would employ up to 1,600 people at the height of construction and about 160 once the site is running.

Muir Miller, project director at Ayrshire Power, said: “Scotland and the UK as a whole face an emerging energy crisis requiring bold decisions to protect electricity supplies.

“The project would deliver a major contribution to the shortfall that may result if this lost capacity is not replaced and consumption continues to rise.

“We believe the APL development is consistent with government energy and climate change policies, and with North Ayrshire’s own development plans.”

Energy minister Fergus Ewing will make a final decision on the plant after North Ayrshire Council sets out its own position on the proposal next month.