Biomass Plant at The Glenlivet Distillery

Proposals for replacing oil fired boilers with a wood burning combined heat and power system as the main source of heat and power.

On 15th September, 2005 committee members of the Glenlivet and Inveravon Community Association met with representatives of Chivas Brothers to hear about their proposals for replacing their oil fired boilers with a wood burning combined heat and power system as their main source of heat and power. Representatives were also present from both Moray Council and the Enterprise Company.

Chivas have pursued this idea because, although their parent company Pernod Ricard wish to promote The Glenlivet as their main malt whisky brand, the distillery has the highest fuel costs of any within their group. They currently use seven tankers of fuel per week. A presentation of their proposals was made by Fergus Tickell of Northern Energy Developments Limited, who have experience of small-scale power generation in Scotland - both hydro and wood based systems.

On-site Activity

They would propose to house the boiler and generator within the old coal boiler house that is still standing on site. They might use the existing flue, but we were assured that any replacement would be no higher. A new building of about 20 x 30 metres (i.e. no bigger than a farm steading) would be needed to house a supply of wood fuel on site, but this would be sited within the existing distillery complex. This new building would be seen from Auchorachan and the Gallowhill but not from Castleton.

It is believed that there would be no net increase in machinery noise associated with the change from an oil to a wood burning boiler. In addition to the generation of steam for use by the distillery, about 1.5MW of electricity will be generated, some to be supplied to the distillery, some to the national grid. There will be no need for any upgrade of existing power lines.

Traffic

The boiler would need an average of five lorry loads of wood per day. On site storage facilities would allow the transfer of the chips from the chipping site to the distillery to be timed to minimise any inconvenience to the local community. There would be a reduction of one lorry movement of oil per day. It is anticipated that about one third of wood supplies could be drawn from local forests, the implication being that one to two of the required five lorry loads of wood are already being moved within the local area. The recent recommisioning of the evaporator to process pot ale on site has reduced lorry movements from the distillery to Rothes by about five per day.

Commercial Arrangements

It is understood that Northern Energy Developments Ltd carries out the financing, commissioning and operation of the power plant. They would lease site facilities from Chivas and sell steam and electricity to the distillery.

Community Involvement

The developers of this scheme are anxious to take account of the community’s concerns, and it is proposed to arrange a couple of meetings in the near future. The first meeting would be held at the distillery so that members of the community could see what was involved relative to the existing structure and activities of the distillery site. Once the developers have considered any points raised at that meeting and firmed up their proposals with more detailed planning, there will a second meeting, probably in The Glenlivet Public Hall, where issues can be clarified and any further concerns discussed.

Wood Chipping

The boiler would be fuelled with wood chips and only wood chips – no draff, no waste material of any kind. Conscious of the noise associated with wood chipping, they do not intend to chip at the distillery and are currently trying to identify a suitable site where chipping can be conducted with the minimum noise impact to residents. The committee pointed out that this would be of prime importance in gaining the support of the local community.