Buckie Bioenergy Plant Project Heads to Public Meeting for Discussion

A bioenergy plant plan goes to a public meeting. The meeting is about building it in a Moray town. Acorn Bioenergy proposed this plant last summer. It will be on farmland near Rathven, next to the March Road Industrial Estate.

Moray Council must approve the plan first. The plant could create fifteen good jobs. Acorn held two meetings about the plans in June 2024 at Fishermen’s Hall. The Acorn team explained their ideas during these meetings.

Another meeting is set for March 3 at 7 PM at the Boys’ Brigade hall in Buckie on Marchmont Crescent. People can ask Acorn Energy about the plans and learn how the plant will work.

The plant makes energy using anaerobic digestion. This natural process uses microbes to break down farm materials in a sealed tank, which in turn makes energy.

Methanogenic bacteria are key microbes. They make biogas from other products. The plant will refine biogas, extracting biomethane and green CO2.

Alister Veitch, a director at Acorn Bioenergy, spoke at a meeting last year. He said distilleries made Buckie a good location because many distilleries exist in Moray.

He said they want a good distillery partnership to take distillery byproducts and send biomethane back. Many distilleries aren’t on the gas grid, so the plant could deliver gas daily.

Farmers want a break crop in the plant area, and can also take digestate back to use as fertilizer, which helps reduce fertilizer emissions. Distilleries also want to reduce emissions, as it is cheaper and cleaner than diesel.

The plant will be near the A98 turnoff to Rathven, if the project gets approved. It covers 7.5 hectares in total and will run from 9 AM to 5 PM on weekdays. Weekend hours will be shorter, with changes during harvest time.