Leith SNP welcomes the news that
Forth Energy have dumped their plans for a large scale biomass power plant in Leith docks.
Local Leith
Councillor Rob Munn said; "This is welcome news. There has been a long campaign against this plan and I congratulate the local campaign group '
No Leith Biomass' for their efforts which have been rewarded today. This was an issue in which the local community were united from
environmental groups, community councils, residents groups to individual citizens."
Cllr Munn added "This was an issue that garnered a lot of comment, all of it against in my experience, from right across Leith and beyond. The basic premise of green power was unsustainable as the fuel for the plant would have had to be shipped in huge quantities from abroad. It seemed too that the economics behind the plan were to get large sums of public money in subsidy in return for providing electricity to the national grid. No firm use was ever put forward for using the substantial heat generated by the proposed plant. Leith is better off without this proposal which was bad for Leith and bad for Scotland."
The reason given by Forth Energy is that they want to develop the National Renewables Infrastructure plans which would see Leith become a home for the manufacture of offshore renewables such as wind,wave and tidal devices as part of Scotland's low carbon future. Leith SNP broadly welcome the opportunities that will create for jobs and investment. It is important that there is an continuing dialogue with the local community to ensure that the lessons of the large scale biomass fiasco are learnt and that any new future for Leith Docks is one where the local community are fully consulted and can see a clear benefit from.
