Sutherland community fights battery farm plan

Residents of a small community in Sutherland have opposed plans for a battery electricity storage facility.

London-headquartered Opdenergy has proposed installing an up to 49.9MW system on croft land at Clynelish near Brora.

It would store excess energy from wind farms and hydro-electric schemes until it was needed at times of high demand for electricity.

But opponents say the site is not appropriate for such an industrial development and have raised concerns around noise pollution and safety.

Clynelish is one of a number of proposed sites in the Highlands for battery electricity storage systems.

Projects with capacity for up to 200MW have been proposed for near Mey, Caithness, and Garve, Wester Ross.

A 49.9MW-capacity site has been suggested for Forss, near Thurso.

And Scottish League 1 football club Inverness Caledonian Thistle has been behind plans for a battery farm in Inverness.

The Clynelish site is on a vacant croft, a small piece of land used for agriculture.

Nick Lindsay, who lives in Clynelish and is chairman of Brora's Clyne Heritage Society, said the feeling in the community was that the scheme should be on a brownfield site closer to the large urban areas where the electricity was needed.

He said: "This is a quiet residential and crofting community and it has been for 200 years since the Highland Clearances.

"The area is a gentle valley, about a mile-and-a-half inland from the sea."

Mr Lindsay said about 13 shipping container-sized units, surrounded by security fencing topped with barbed wire, had been proposed.

He said: "The visual impact will be quite immense to local dwellings.

"It will be like having an industrial caravan park outside your house."

A public meeting held on the plans was attended by 91 people.

Mr Lindsay said concerns raised included a constant humming from cooling systems and that the site posed a potential fire risk.

Opdenergy said the chances of a fire were "remote" but safety was its top priority and the facility would have a "state-of-the-art fire suppression technology".

The company added that extensive landscaping, along with trees and hedges, would reduce the visual impact, while soundproofing measures would ensure it operated quietly.

A spokesperson said: "The Clynelish site was selected due to its strategic location, which is ideal for integrating renewable energy sources into the grid.

"The project will play a crucial role in expanding the use of renewable energy by providing reliable storage solutions, thereby enhancing grid stability and supporting Scotland’s renewable energy targets.

"These facilities cannot be placed anywhere."

A planning application is expected to be submitted to Highland Council in the next few months.