PLANS for a modest gas-fired power plant to be built across the road from the former Cockenzie Power Station site have been revealed.

An application to build the small-scale station has been lodged by Lark Gas Assets who are based in Lincolnshire.

They want to build the plant on the former gas-holder site which lies next to the electricity substation and in front of the former power station’s coal plant.

Formerly used for gas storage, the 0.44 hectare piece of land, which is owned by Scottish Gas, would be turned into a fortress with two-metre high fencing and state of the art CCTV cameras equipped with speakers which will be operated remotely by the company.

It would house 10 gas generators and two transformers.

In their application for planning permission, Lark Gas said they picked the site because of its proximity to a National Grid connection and the fact it is part of a “wider industrial area”.

They seemed to believe, however, that Cockenzie Power Station still exists.

They said: “The site is currently vacant and was most recently used as a gas storage plant. The area itself is industrial in nature with Cockenzie Power Station in close proximity”.

It goes on to describe the site surrounding as “the area is industrial/commercial in nature with dominant features being the large power station nearby”.

However a report to the company on the noise impact which could be generated by the plant, by Glasgow-based consultants Neo, acknowledges that the power station was no longer there and that East Lothian Council was in the process of drawing up a new masterplan for its former site and surrounding land.

The new plant would be unmanned and monitored and operated remotely.

It is described as an emergency electricity supplier which would provide the National Grid with extra power when required and is part of Lark Gas Assets “grid balancing” programme.

A noise impact report described the sounds from the plant which may be heard at nearby houses as low or negligible.

In their application to the council, Lark Gas Assets state: “As an intermittent operator, noise generated from the site is infrequent and of a limited nature.”

East Lothian Council has been confirmed as the preferred bidder for the ScottishPower-owned land at the former power station.

The local authority has drawn up a masterplan for the area which has not yet been revealed to the public, following consultations held over the last year.

Plans for a further substation which will bring in energy from an offshore windfarm are expected to be submitted to East Lothian Council later this year.

Inch Cape Offshore Limited (ICOL) have already been granted permission to build the proposed substation on land behind the coal plant, but following public consultations they are expected to lodge a new plan which will see the substation built on 25 per cent of the former power station’s site.

ScottishPower had planned, some years ago, to build a large, gas-fired power station to replace Cockenzie Power Station but those proposals were binned.

Their chairman Brian Weddell has called for a moratorium on all planning applications for the site and surrounding land.