Fearful Bridge of Don residents are worried that having two battery storage facilities on their doorstep could be “dangerous for the whole area”.
Danestone Community Council is scared that a blaze at a second proposed site, near the Tesco Extra, could cause a “major disaster” due to its proximity to the supermarket’s petrol station.
Their concerns come after a similar development in Liverpool took hours to extinguish following a fire four years ago.
But despite this risk, they argue that many locals living just metres away have no idea about the proposal.
Anesco wants to construct a 70MW battery energy storage system (BESS) next to the Persley waste water treatment plant.
It’s the second battery storage site that has been earmarked for the area.
Persley Croft BESS Ltd has lodged plans for a similar development at the former piggery next to the RGS Hutchison and Sons scrap yard just up the A92.
Both sites would connect to the existing SSEN Persley Grid substation on Station Road and could be in operation for 40 years.
And now Aberdeen City Council could be poised to approve the Persley facility at a meeting on Thursday, August 22.
Fire and ‘toxic’ fumes fears at battery storage site
Danestone Community Council member Sarah-Jane Foxen said the potential fire risk was a big concern for the group.
They are especially worried about a gas pipe that runs under the site.
“Anesco say that if there is a fire they will just let this burn which is very concerning considering we’ve got a gas pipe, water pipe and petrol station nearby.
“The whole road would be shut down.”
Fellow community councillor Kathryn Duncan added: “I fear it is dangerous for the whole area.
“It won’t be manned so no-one will be there to stop a fire.
“Who is going to raise the alarm?”
Kathryn also voiced her concern about “toxic fumes” that could potentially be created during a blaze.
“Some areas have been evacuated because of this,” she stated.
‘We’ll have a bunch of people with tinnitus or hearing problems’
The community councillors also fear the site will create a noise nuisance for those living nearby.
They worry an annoying buzz will be loud and clear, especially in the evenings.
Sarah-Jane said: “I did ask Anesco how noisy it would be with rain hitting off the containers, I don’t think that would be very soothing.
“We’ll have a bunch of people with tinnitus or hearing problems.
“And there will be no benefit to residents here, apart from some containers that we get to look at.”
The dedicated community councillor recently visited the £20 million 50MW battery storage facility in Dundee.
She wanted to get an idea of what such a facility would look and sound like for herself.
Following her trip, she said a “consistent machine noise” was emitted from the Dundee site.
‘It could cause a major disaster’
The Bridge of Don residents fear having two battery storage sites in Persley will change the character of the peaceful residential area.
Kathryn suggested the developers should have looked at placing the facility in the city’s empty industrial estates instead of the “ridiculous” proposed spot.
But to her surprise, the community councillor revealed many of those living nearby had “no idea” about the plans.
“People didn’t know about it and they live right next door,” she said.
Kathryn noted the proposed 70MW facility could be built on land that could potentially flood.
And any overflow running down from the neighbouring scrap dealers could also create an unwanted problem.
Kathryn explained: “The scrap dealers opposite the site used to be used as a dump for mills and waste was landfilled there.
“As far as we know there has been no attempt to see what’s actually in the land and if that could react with anything that’s in these batteries.
“It could cause a major disaster, the environment around the Don would be completely devastated.”
What does Anesco say about it?
The solar energy firm argues the storage facility is needed as coal and gas power stations are phased out from Britain’s energy system.
BESS facilities store and release energy generated from renewable sources such as wind and solar farms.
They help to support the increasing demand for low carbon technology in the UK.
Storage sites also release power to the grid when there is a demand for it.
Anesco also claim the risk of fire from the batteries would be “relatively low” but could be shut down remotely if needed.
Each storage cabinet will have an automatic heat and fire detection system to curb any potential disasters.
What’s next for the Danestone battery storage plans?
Sarah admitted she has spent days reading through the documents for the Persley development and has a whopping 50 questions for Anesco.
While she doesn’t expect a reply from the firm, she will add them to the community council’s objection to the Scottish Government.
She has even asked Scottish ministers to come up to site and see it before making a final decision.
Sarah feared that if this was approved it would allow more to come in the future. “We won’t be the oil capital of Europe anymore, we’ll be the capital of BESS.”
Due to the proposed capacity of the site, the plans have been submitted to the Scottish Government for determination.
Any sites larger than 50MW have to go through the Scottish Government, but Aberdeen City Council will be asked to comment as part of the process.
You can view the plans for the battery storage site here.
The community council is calling on concerned locals to attend the planning meeting at Aberdeen Town House next week.
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