Hunterston coal plant would need subsidy
Published 28 Aug 2009 10:04
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There was an excellent turnout at a meeting on Wednesday evening, at West Kilbride Village Hall, which was arranged by the W.K. Community Council to discuss the proposed new Coal-fired Power Station that Ayrshire Power (a 50/50 joint company of Peel Clydeport and DONG Energy in Denmark) is proposing to build at Hunterston.
The meeting was attended by two of our North Ayrshire Councillors and the local MSP, Kenny Gibson. However we were advised that, although invited, Ayrshire Power had declined to participate on the alleged grounds that they did not believe in large public meetings but would be holding more individual consultations later in the year. Attendees expressed disappointment at this as most of their questions would have been addressed to Ayrshire Power and went unanswered.
Whilst disappointing, it is not wholly surprising as Peel Clydeport have not been good neighbours to their local communities, arrogantly ignoring problems with coal dust, noise and problems with coal lorries and it looks as if Peel Ayrshire Power is continuing along the same lines. My advice to them is that the Court of Public Opinion will hold them to account and I suggest that they open meaningful and proper public consultations with the local community immediately.
One interesting fact did emerge from the meeting when it was disclosed that Ayrshire Power had said that they were seeking a government subsidy i.e. to be paid by the British taxpayer of 75 Euros per tonne of coal burnt on site and they would need this to proceed with the project!
This is all the more outrageous as it comes from a company whose partner is 75% owned by the Danish Government, who will not allow DONG to build any new coal fired power stations in their own country and are requiring them to spend millions of Euros over the next few years converting their existing coal stations to biomass, waste combustion and bio ethanol.
Denmark are hosting the major U.N. Climate Change Conference, COP15, in Copenhagen in December which will announce major new world CO2 reduction targets whilst at the same time asking the British taxpayer to subsidise a project that will increase the amount of CO2 and other noxious gases into the atmosphere by millions of tonnes. I know what my answer will be but I will leave your readers to make up their own minds.
David R. Campbell CBE
Seamill
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