Buckie bioenergy plant plans to take centre stage at public meeting
Plans to build a bioenergy plant in a Moray town are set to take centre stage at a public meeting.
Last summer saw Acorn Bioenergy unveil proposals to construct an anaerobic digestion plant on agricultural land, to the south of Rathven and adjacent to the March Road Industrial Estate.
If granted planning permission by Moray Council, it is envisaged that the plant would support 15 above average pay jobs.
Two consultation meetings outlining the plans were held in the Fishermen’s Hall in June 2024 where members of the Acorn team were on hand to explain the proposals.
A public meeting is now planned for Monday, March 3 at 7pm in the Boys’ Brigade hall at Marchmont Crescent, Buckie. It will provide an opportunity for people to ask representatives from Acorn Energy about the plans and learn more about the plant itself and its proposed operation.
The plant will generate energy by using a process called anaerobic digestion. This is a naturally-occurring biological process carried out by a mixture of microbes breaking down agricultural materials to use as an energy source in an air-tight tank.
The key microbes are methanogenic bacteria which produce biogas from the intermediate products. The anaerobic digestion facilities will then refine the biogas to extract biomethane and green CO2.
Speaking at last year’s drop-in consultation, Alister Veitch, Business Development Director at Acorn Bioenergy, said the concentration of distilleries in the area and across Moray was one of the key factors in the firm identifying Buckie as a preferred site for the new plant.
He continued: “We’re looking to have a symbiotic relationship with distilleries where we take their co-products and we can return biomethane straight back to them.
“A lot of distilleries are off-grid so the idea is we can literally deliver the gas they need on a daily basis.
“Also, the famers round here are looking for a break crop to fit into their rotation so then we can take the digestate back to use as fertiliser. This will help farmers decarbonise from the fertilisers they’re using at the moment.
“Decarbonisations is also where the distilleries are coming from, too as it’s cheaper and cleaner than diesel.”
Covering 7.5 hectares in total, it is envisaged the plant would operate from 9am to 5pm during the week with reduced hours at the weekend, with the exception of harvest time.
