Communities Opposed to New Coal at Hunterston

CONCH hosted a special meeting on 28th June 2010 at which the speakers (pictured above) were:

Ben Murray, author of the Power of Scotland Renewed
Maggie Kelly, Co-chair of CONCH
Tim Cowen, Co-chair of CONCH
Sophie from Coal Action Scotland
Aedán Smith - Head of Planning and Development, RSPB Scotland
Dr Mandy Meikle who is a member of Depletion Scotland

More information about the speakers and photos of the meeting.

CONCH is a community-led campaign against the proposed building of a £2bn coal-fired power station at Hunterston in North Ayrshire

AYRSHIRE POWER misleading claims on carbon capture

What their website says

“Carbon capture and storage technology, when applied at full scale, would ensure that up to 90% of CO2 emissions are captured instead of being released into the atmosphere.”

What their plans actually say

“...about 15% of the Carbon Dioxide (CO2 ) would be removed from the start of the operations” (non technical summary page 2)

What they still can’t tell us - how they will either transport or store any carbon they capture

“The full Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) comprises 3 elements - capture, transportation and storage of CO2. However - this Section 36 application is only for the onsite equipment associated with the capture of CO2 from the power station flue gas and its preparation before being transported to the storage location. The remaining elements of the CCS chain are outside of the remit of this Section 36 application and will be the subject of future applications.”

(non technical summary page 23)

Making your feelings known

Download a sample letter of objection which you can modify.

More details on the How To Object page.

CONCH banner slashed

Last week CONCH unveiled a large 20'-25' roadside banner, on Southannan Estate, clearly visible on the main road into Fairlie to let people know that Ayrshire Power had lodged their planning application and to draw attention to the limited time people have to send in objections to Ayrshire Power's plans. Within a week, the banner was deliberately slashed.

We have our suspicions about who was responsible, but no proof. If anyone has any further information then please get in touch. This act of vandalism will serve to make our campaign more united and more determined.

Anyone who can contribute to a sturdier, wooden replacement should visit the donations page.

3rd June 2010

Tim was interviewed by BBC and shown on Newsnight Scotland as part of their coverage on the proposal. BBC Website Report:
Hunterston coal power plan submitted to ministers

31st May 2010

Conch briefing: Ayrshire Power Planning application

Tim has prepared a briefing paper explaining the latest information we have on Ayrshire Power's planning application.

Ayrshire Power's planning application was submitted on 2nd June.

The deadline for sending in objections has now been extended until 20th August 2010. Thanks to those (including Fairlie community council) who lobbied for an extension - this allows more time for us to examine the plans in detail and mobilise even more letters of objection!

The briefing contains details of where you can view the plans, the address for sending in objections, how to get an electronic version of the plans and details of Ayrshire Power's consultation surgeries.

A pdf of Ayrshire Power's non-technical Summary can be downloaded here.

Download the Scoping Document. (Word document)

See 'How to Object to Energy Consents' on the Scottish Government's website and also see our How to Object page.

Recent Press reports:

09/06/10 Consultation fears over coal station project

08/06/10 'Sloppy' errors in coal-power station plans, say campaigners

29/04/10 A health study involving Fairlie children is taking place, over concerns relating to coal dust problems from Hunterston.

26/03/10 Hunterston biomass plant plan slammed

24/03/10 Kenneth Gibson MSP welcomes MSP rejection of power station

19/03/10 Hunterston doubt after Parliamentary vote

18/03/10 MSPs back calls for the Scottish Parliament to reject the plans

16/03/10 Ayrshire Power plan is now under way

15/03/10 Peel Energy's website update

14/03/10 Is new coal-fired power plant a gamble worth taking?

14/03/10 Battle lines are drawn over new power plant plan

CONCH response

CONCH will be mobilising a massive grassroots campaign to oppose these plans and will be keeping people informed via our website. Keep checking back for more details or sign up to our email updates by emailing info@conchcampaign.org.

We are campaigning to prevent:

the devastation of the local environment including important bird habitats and a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)
adverse impact on public health from waste products which will include at least 400,000 tonnes of fly ash, 45,000 tonnes of bottom ash and 220,000 tonnes of gypsum per year
unnecessary and damaging increase in Scotland’s CO₂ emissions which will contribute towards climate change

New policy for coal power

09/11/2009

New coal power stations in Scotland must be able to utilise carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology to cut emissions, so any new application for a coal fired power station will need to incorporate CCS demonstration, with CCS planned to be mandatory for new coal stations from 2020.

Determining and delivering on Scotland's energy future

A Report of the Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee of the Scottish Parliament argues for:

a) energy efficiency to be first priority,
b) promoting decentralised electricity (and heat) generation,
c) no consent being given for new heat wasting power stations.

Read summary
Read full report

Carbon Capture Information

The Scottish Government thermal policy statement was announced on the 9 November 2009 and means that the proposed coal station must only have 300MW (net) carbon capture and storage (CCS) operational from day one. As the proposed coal station at Hunterston will generate 1600MW, this would mean only around 20% of the emissions would be “carbon captured” leaving 75%-80% of the plants CO² emissions unabated for an indeterminate length of time.

The UK government have indicated that they will provide several £billion to fund 3-4 pilot or demonstration carbon capture projects in UK. However on November 9th 2009 it was revealed that Ayrshire Power would not be putting in a bid for these funds ie they are currently out of the running to receive the public subsidy they need to pay for installing carbon capture.

Dow Jones Article on Lloyd's website.

The government is proposing a levy to fund the development of carbon capture and storage technology.

Dominic Maclaine looks at how it might work.

Department of Energy & Climate Change –

Information on carbon capture

CONCH and the Legal Challenge

CONCH's steering group met in February to review our campaign priorities and how best to campaign against Ayrshire Power plans. Prior to this most of our attention had been focussed on fundraising to support the legal challenge of Hunterston's inclusion within the National Planning Framework. We are really pleased that we helped the legal challenge progress through its preliminary hearing stage (held in December 2009.)

The legal challenge is of national significance and has wider implications than just Hunterston coal station. It was felt that other organizations, with more resources and a stronger focus on planning issues would be better placed to take the lead role in the legal challenge as it progressed up to a full hearing.

This change in our campaign strategy, which means CONCH is no longer an active partner in the legal challenge, means that we will be able to be focus on a range of other campaigning activity.

CONCH is pleased that the legal challenge of Hunterston's inclusion within the National Planning Framework is still continuing and asks that anyone wishing to find out more or who wishes to support the legal challenge should get in touch with the Environmental Law Centre Scotland


> Home Home About CONCH Coal Station Proposal Contact us How to object Briefing Paper Donate CONCH Meetings Public Events Press Releases CONCH in the Media Info (Open Access) Links Human Rights	Communities Opposed to New Coal at Hunterston CONCH hosted a special meeting on 28th June 2010 at which the speakers (pictured above) were: Ben Murray, author of the Power of Scotland Renewed Maggie Kelly, Co-chair of CONCH Tim Cowen, Co-chair of CONCH Sophie from Coal Action Scotland Aedán Smith - Head of Planning and Development, RSPB Scotland Dr Mandy Meikle who is a member of Depletion Scotland More information about the speakers and photos of the meeting. CONCH is a community-led campaign against the proposed building of a £2bn coal-fired power station at Hunterston in North Ayrshire AYRSHIRE POWER misleading claims on carbon capture What their website says “Carbon capture and storage technology, when applied at full scale, would ensure that up to 90% of CO2 emissions are captured instead of being released into the atmosphere.” What their plans actually say “...about 15% of the Carbon Dioxide (CO2 ) would be removed from the start of the operations” (non technical summary page 2) What they still can’t tell us - how they will either transport or store any carbon they capture “The full Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) comprises 3 elements - capture, transportation and storage of CO2. However - this Section 36 application is only for the onsite equipment associated with the capture of CO2 from the power station flue gas and its preparation before being transported to the storage location. The remaining elements of the CCS chain are outside of the remit of this Section 36 application and will be the subject of future applications.” (non technical summary page 23) Making your feelings known Download a sample letter of objection which you can modify. More details on the How To Object page. CONCH banner slashed Last week CONCH unveiled a large 20'-25' roadside banner, on Southannan Estate, clearly visible on the main road into Fairlie to let people know that Ayrshire Power had lodged their planning application and to draw attention to the limited time people have to send in objections to Ayrshire Power's plans. Within a week, the banner was deliberately slashed. We have our suspicions about who was responsible, but no proof. If anyone has any further information then please get in touch. This act of vandalism will serve to make our campaign more united and more determined. Anyone who can contribute to a sturdier, wooden replacement should visit the donations page. 3rd June 2010 Tim was interviewed by BBC and shown on Newsnight Scotland as part of their coverage on the proposal. BBC Website Report: Hunterston coal power plan submitted to ministers 31st May 2010 Conch briefing: Ayrshire Power Planning application Tim has prepared a briefing paper explaining the latest information we have on Ayrshire Power's planning application. Ayrshire Power's planning application was submitted on 2nd June. The deadline for sending in objections has now been extended until 20th August 2010. Thanks to those (including Fairlie community council) who lobbied for an extension - this allows more time for us to examine the plans in detail and mobilise even more letters of objection! The briefing contains details of where you can view the plans, the address for sending in objections, how to get an electronic version of the plans and details of Ayrshire Power's consultation surgeries. A pdf of Ayrshire Power's non-technical Summary can be downloaded here. Download the Scoping Document. (Word document) See 'How to Object to Energy Consents' on the Scottish Government's website and also see our How to Object page. Recent Press reports: 09/06/10 Consultation fears over coal station project 08/06/10 'Sloppy' errors in coal-power station plans, say campaigners 29/04/10 A health study involving Fairlie children is taking place, over concerns relating to coal dust problems from Hunterston. 26/03/10 Hunterston biomass plant plan slammed 24/03/10 Kenneth Gibson MSP welcomes MSP rejection of power station 19/03/10 Hunterston doubt after Parliamentary vote 18/03/10 MSPs back calls for the Scottish Parliament to reject the plans 16/03/10 Ayrshire Power plan is now under way 15/03/10 Peel Energy's website update 14/03/10 Is new coal-fired power plant a gamble worth taking? 14/03/10 Battle lines are drawn over new power plant plan CONCH response CONCH will be mobilising a massive grassroots campaign to oppose these plans and will be keeping people informed via our website. Keep checking back for more details or sign up to our email updates by emailing info@conchcampaign.org. See also the RSPB campaign page. Friends of the Earth cyber campaign We are campaigning to prevent: the devastation of the local environment including important bird habitats and a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) adverse impact on public health from waste products which will include at least 400,000 tonnes of fly ash, 45,000 tonnes of bottom ash and 220,000 tonnes of gypsum per year unnecessary and damaging increase in Scotland’s CO₂ emissions which will contribute towards climate change New policy for coal power 09/11/2009 New coal power stations in Scotland must be able to utilise carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology to cut emissions, so any new application for a coal fired power station will need to incorporate CCS demonstration, with CCS planned to be mandatory for new coal stations from 2020. Read more Determining and delivering on Scotland's energy future A Report of the Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee of the Scottish Parliament argues for: a) energy efficiency to be first priority, b) promoting decentralised electricity (and heat) generation, c) no consent being given for new heat wasting power stations. Read summary Read full report Carbon Capture Information The Scottish Government thermal policy statement was announced on the 9 November 2009 and means that the proposed coal station must only have 300MW (net) carbon capture and storage (CCS) operational from day one. As the proposed coal station at Hunterston will generate 1600MW, this would mean only around 20% of the emissions would be “carbon captured” leaving 75%-80% of the plants CO² emissions unabated for an indeterminate length of time. The UK government have indicated that they will provide several £billion to fund 3-4 pilot or demonstration carbon capture projects in UK. However on November 9th 2009 it was revealed that Ayrshire Power would not be putting in a bid for these funds ie they are currently out of the running to receive the public subsidy they need to pay for installing carbon capture. Dow Jones Article on Lloyd's website. The government is proposing a levy to fund the development of carbon capture and storage technology. Dominic Maclaine looks at how it might work. Department of Energy & Climate Change – Information on carbon capture CONCH and the Legal Challenge CONCH's steering group met in February to review our campaign priorities and how best to campaign against Ayrshire Power plans. Prior to this most of our attention had been focussed on fundraising to support the legal challenge of Hunterston's inclusion within the National Planning Framework. We are really pleased that we helped the legal challenge progress through its preliminary hearing stage (held in December 2009.) The legal challenge is of national significance and has wider implications than just Hunterston coal station. It was felt that other organizations, with more resources and a stronger focus on planning issues would be better placed to take the lead role in the legal challenge as it progressed up to a full hearing. This change in our campaign strategy, which means CONCH is no longer an active partner in the legal challenge, means that we will be able to be focus on a range of other campaigning activity. CONCH is pleased that the legal challenge of Hunterston's inclusion within the National Planning Framework is still continuing and asks that anyone wishing to find out more or who wishes to support the legal challenge should get in touch with the Environmental Law Centre Scotland
For more information, or to join our mailing list for news alerts, contact the CONCH campaign Photo of Eggsborough Power Station by Foto43 used under the Creative Commons licence, with thanks Photo of Al Gore by Monikia Flueckiger. Used with thanks under a Creative Commons licence.

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