|
For and Against
An article in the Evening News on March 29 set
out arguments for and against the proposed development.
Arguments in favour were advanced by Forth
Energy, the company formed by Fort Ports and Scottish & Southern Energy.
Arguments against it were advanced by Leith
LInks' Residents' Association.
Arguments included the following:
FOR:
- Forth Ports have plans to invest £1.7bn
in four renewable energy plants. These would be at the ports of
Leith, Grangemouth, Dundee and Rosyth and would have a total capacity of
up to 500 megawatts, enough to power more than a million homes.
- The plants would be fuelled by
sustainably sourced biomass, so would be a contribution towards the
Scottish Government's target of 50% of Scotland's electricity being
supplied from renewable sources by 2020.
- This is an ambitious project. It
would have a positive impact on Leith, creating 250 construction jobs and
60 operational jobs.
- Leith is in an ideal location for the
plant, having excellent sea and rail links, a deep water port and the
capacity to unload the biomass quickly and store it.
AGAINST:
- The plan has been hastily drawn up in
response to Forth Ports' difficulty in achieving the returns they expected
from the housing developments on their land.
- The plant would produce harmful, toxic
emissions. It would have a 100m chimney, but the frequent sea fogs
in the Forth would result in the emissions not being dispersed.
- The plant would create light create
continuous light and noise pollution. It would be floodlit, day and
night, and articulated lorries would be visiting the plant 24 hours a day.
- There are plans for a residential
Waterfront, but this plant would not encourage the sale of flats in
the area.
- There are no guarantees that the fuel for
the plant would come from sustainable forests.
Edinburgh Evening News, March
29, 2010, p.12 |