Mey battery site hailed as ‘exciting project’ as campaigners call planning system ‘rank rotten’
The company behind a major battery energy development on the north coast of Caithness hailed it as an “exciting project” that will meet a “huge demand” after Highland councillors agreed to withdraw their objection.
A local campaign group hit out at the decision, however, saying it showed a “shocking disregard for public, environmental and heritage concerns” and calling the planning system “rank rotten”.
Mey Energy Storage Ltd is proposing a battery energy storage system (BESS) on agricultural land about 1.5km from the Castle of Mey, consisting of some 288 containerised battery units with a total export storage capacity of up to 300MW.
Councillors had submitted an objection in April after expressing concerns over the environmental and tourism impact. The site is close to the North Coast 500 route.
But the council’s north planning applications committee was re-consulted by the Scottish Government’s Energy Consents Unit (ECU) after new information was put forward. And, at a meeting of the committee on Wednesday, members voted 6-2 to raise no objection.
Mey Energy Storage Ltd is owned by Ampeak Energy, previously Simec Atlantis Energy, the company that operates the nearby MeyGen tidal energy project.
A spokesperson for Mey Energy Storage Ltd said: “Developing projects takes a huge amount of teamwork and collaboration, and also pulls in many experts. We would like to thank all those involved in our Mey BESS battery 300MW/1.2GWh storage project near our MeyGen tidal stream site.
“We were really pleased that Highland Council voted to withdraw their objection. This means the application has no statutory objections and will now go to the ECU for final determination and award of Section 36 consent.
“This is a great project, in an area where we have worked and operated for over a decade, with a huge demand for storage. It is also strategically important for MeyGen phase two as it bolsters the need for vital infrastructure and grid investment in the area.
“We will continue to work with all involved to deliver this exciting project.”
At this week’s meeting Councillor Karl Rosie, the committee vice-chairman, suggested major renewable energy schemes could help address depopulation in the far north.
Councillor Rosie (Thurso and Northwest Caithness) pointed out: “We’ve got an opportunity for diversifying the economy of Caithness here.
“We speak about how we are addressing issues of predicted depopulation in the Highlands. This is one of the ways we do it.”
Mey BESS Action Group, which has more than 700 members on Facebook, had asked councillors to “stand firm” against the scheme.
A spokesperson for the group said: “The meeting exposed a shocking disregard for public, environmental and heritage concerns. The decision comes amid widespread local opposition and expert warnings about the impact on the Castle of Mey landscape.
“Public confidence in Highland Council is further eroded by the systematic redirection of objections to the Scottish Government’s ECU and the drip-fed resubmission of documents after Highland Council had already lodged a statutory objection.
“The system is rank rotten. Councillors ignored evidence, sidelined public input, and seem to be doing the bidding of developers. Caithness deserves better.”
Also on the planning committee agenda was the proposed Rigifa BESS, at a nearby site. Councillors agreed to raise no objection, with no vote.
Field Rigifa Limited is proposing containerised battery units with a total export storage capacity of up to 200MW, and associated infrastructure, on land 625m south-west of Phillips Mains.
The action group spokesman said: “Both projects now move to the Scottish Government, which approves 97 per cent of applications [for major energy developments] – raising serious questions about who really holds power in the planning process.”
The group vowed to continue campaigning. “We will not be silenced,” the spokesperson said. “There is strength in numbers, and we will keep fighting to protect Caithness.”
Historic Environment Scotland had concluded that the Castle of Mey and its landscape “would not be adversely affected [by Mey BESS] as there is very limited visibility from them towards the proposed development”.
Fears had emerged about fire risks at battery energy storage sites. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is not a statutory consultee as part of the BESS planning process.
The committee chairman, Councillor Drew Millar (Skye), said: “We have been assured that the fire service are quite confident they can cope with any incidents that would happen, even though some of us had genuine concerns.”
Councillor Raymond Bremner (Wick and East Caithness) suggested that renewable energy infrastructure is generally not a “huge issue” for tourists.
“I cannot see from going along the NC500 that you’re going to see this having any visual impact as you’re traversing the north coast,” the council leader said.
“Don’t get caught up in the fact that it’s going to be a huge issue for tourism because I’ve never known renewable energy developments in Caithness to actually have an impact on tourism, especially going round the NC500.”
He then conceded that Stroupster wind farm, south-west of John O'Groats, could be said to have had some impact but “this [Rigifa] will not be one of them, as far as I can see”.