PLANS for an energy development on the edge of Oldhamstocks will be revealed this week.
Early proposals for a solar farm and battery energy storage system (BESS) are being drawn up by Voltalia.
The company is hosting a public consultation event in Oldhamstocks Village Hall from 3pm to 8pm on Wednesday.
Members of the public will have the chance to not only see the proposals but also speak to representatives from the project.
Chris Bruce, chairman of East Lammermuir Community Council, which includes Oldhamstocks and other surrounding small villages, encouraged people to head along to the exhibition.
He said: “The community council will try to make sure people understand what is being proposed and then we are going to survey the local community so that we can get an accurate position on the number of people who are supporting, neutral or unhappy about the proposal.
“We have done that with the Newlands Hill [wind farm] proposal and we did that in the Stenton area.
“We got a very good response rate and we could add up the numbers really accurately.”
Second BESS planned
A website for the project claims that the solar capacity would be 165 megawatts (MW), while the battery energy capacity would be up to 150MW.
Proposals to construct, extend or operate an onshore electricity generating station with a capacity of more than 50MW requires the consent of Scottish Ministers.
An environmental impact assessment report will be carried out later this year.
Voltalia hope to then have a second public consultation event in February next year before an application is submitted to the Scottish Government’s Energy Consents Unit later in the spring.
Meanwhile, plans for another BESS, between Stenton, Spott and West Barns, will be revealed next month.
The proposed 100MW scheme would feature 40 battery units on a four-acre site.
Again, due to the size of the development, the final decision will come from the Energy Consents Unit and not East Lothian Council.
A planning application is expected to be submitted before the end of the year.
Developers ABEI Energy hope to start construction in 2029 and “energisation” the following year.
A drop-in event takes place at West Barns Village Hall from 3pm to 8pm on September 4.
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