Safety fears over energy storage plans in Nairn as five planned east of town centre
A sharp increase in applications for battery energy storage units (BESS) has raised fears about safety.
At present, five applications are at various planning stages in Blackparck, Grigorhill and surrounding areas, two of which have already been approved by the planning committee.
Another battery park is also being planned by Spanish company OPDEnergy - who are also behind the BESS proposal for Grigorhill - to the south-west of Auldearn.
The concentration of such projects in the area was raised at the most recent meeting of Nairn River Community Council last Wednesday.
“At a Nairn River Community Council meeting, community council, co-opted member Loreine Thomson shared her concerns at the lack of answers given by the companies carrying out these developments (namely, Opdenergy Ltd, Whirlwind Renewables Ltd and Anesco) when questioned over their plans for emergency response.
“This is not a small issue for the community,” she said.
“While we do not expect thermal fire incidents we’ve got to make sure that we have done everything we can so at least we can protect residents’ health and safety and that businesses don’t experience a loss of business because of fires or disruption from contamination.”
After attending public meetings held by the developers, she said she was “appalled” by the lack of information they provided.
In particular, she was told that BESS sites would be remotely monitored, and in the case of a fault being identified, the emergency response would be under the responsibility of a ‘local’ contractor - which she was told could be based in the central belt.
“This blew my mind,” she said.
"What happens if you have children climbing over the fence, or a fire? They said the police would respond, but when I asked them who would be tasked to call the police, I had no reply. I asked if there was an automatic notification to police or fire and again got no response.
“At each of the meetings I have asked whether they had consulted with the Nairn fire station - whose team is made up of on-call volunteer firefighters - and the answer was ‘no’ from every single one of them. They said they would do that only after obtaining planning consent.”
Guidelines on how to deal with such facilities were published by the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), however, SFRS has not adopted the guidance as yet.
Concerns were also raised about a planning decision made in 2023: after a planning application for a first BESS in Blackpark was approved in 2020, the developer sought the removal of one of the conditions which required them to provide proof of a “bond” to “cover all decommissioning and site restoration measures”.
“With Highland Council Planning having approved the removal of this condition, it sets a precedent. If these developers go bust or out of business during the lifespan of the BESS, or are unable to fund decommissioning, who then pays for the restoration of the site? Highland Council, which means Highland residents. This is appalling and unacceptable,” continued Mrs Thomson.
The proposal for the site at Russell’s Wood (from Whirlwind Energy Storage Limited on land off Granny Barbours Road) is also located on part of the land where the Nairn Bypass should be constructed.
In a motion brought forward by Aird and Loch Ness councillor Helen Crawford and passed at a Highland Council meeting yesterday, signatories sought to address the increasing number of major electricity development applications.
Among the requests was the creation of a “real-time map, publicly available online, showing all the major renewable energy related developments within Council’s knowledge, existing and proposed”, as well as providing training to community councils for communities to be better equipped to evaluate each proposal and reply to consultations.
Concerns are understandable, says Nairn councillor
Nairn and Cawdor councillor Paul Oldham, who is also vice chair on the south planning committee and has been following the applications, said: “I can quite understand the concerns residents have about BESS installations in general and about the proposed cluster west of Auldearn in particular.
“The National Fire Chiefs Council guidance has not yet been adopted by Scottish Fire and Rescue, and hence we are not getting comment from them, which has been the cause of great frustration for Highland Council planning officers and for councillors when considering planning applications.
“I think there are two things to bear in mind. Firstly even when they have planning permission it will probably be some years before SSEN allow them to connect to the grid, and indeed SSEN may not have the capacity to allow all five to connect.
“Secondly there are some emerging battery technologies which are considerably less vulnerable to fire risk than lithium and are eminently suitable for BESS installations so hopefully those will be used.
“Finally, on decommissioning on all applications we have approved to date, we have included conditions which say that the land must be restored to its original state once the BESS is removed.”
Emergency response plans yet to be determined
An OPDEnergy spokesperson said that “safety” is a “top priority” for the company.
“Our project is still in the early stages and has not yet been submitted for planning application. As such, the emergency response plans are yet to be determined and designed. However, we are committed to developing comprehensive safety measures and coordinating with local emergency services to ensure the highest standards of safety. This would be agreed with them through the Council. Moreover we are finalizing a Fire Risk Assessment which would be part of the full planning application documentation and where mitigation measures will be proposed on site.”
Simon Munro, agent for the first Blackparck planning application, said: “It is normal to look closely at something new. There is a huge amount of bad information out there and of course, it is normal for not everyone to be up to speed. But in terms of safety, it is worth saying that there has never been a single case anywhere in the world where nearby residents have been affected by such a facility.
“I would expect a facility operator to liaise with the fire service in the run-up to construction and for each facility to have its own safe design and procedures.
“This technology on its own will not solve all of our energy issues, but it has a part to play. For the Planning process, visual impact is the key – residents and decision makers should look closely at what is proposed and consider its acceptability in each case.”
Area Commander Michael Humphreys, the local senior officer for the Highland area at the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, said: “The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is not a statutory consultee as part of the planning process for Battery Energy Storage Sites.
“When we receive information about proposed sites, we refer those involved to the National Fire Chiefs Council's best practice guidance, which we are aligned with.
"In responding to an emergency, our crews can employ a range of skills and procedures based on guidance produced by the National Fire Chiefs Council, while also working with partner agencies to mitigate the risk and impact to the public and the environment."
A Highland Council spokesperson said they don’t provide statements on planning applications which are currently under consideration and that there is no provision in legislation for there to be. Fire safety is not a material planning consideration.
They added: “Decommissioning for BESS proposals at Blackpark have not been dropped. There have been two proposals granted – both of which have a requirement for decommissioning.
“The requirements for the developer to meet in terms of safety requirements/responding to any emergency or fault would be a question for the operator. The planning system does not control all aspects of development; there are other regulatory regimes in play such as HSE (for workplace incidents), SFRS for fire risk and SEPA in respect of pollution for instance.”
