Project turning rushes and scrub into fuel gets planning permission in the Park
Project turning rushes and scrub into fuel gets planning permission in the Park
A research project which seeks to turn vegetation from wetlands into fuel briquettes can go ahead after the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) granted planning permission for the temporary shipping containers that are required to house the biomass processing plant needed to carry out the job.
The company behind the project near Kingussie are AMW Arboreal Ltd who – as well as needing the two containers – also need five other temporary units to house various other pieces of essential machinery. Now that planning permission has been secured the five month research project with the RSPB at Insh Marshes, which is funded by the Government’s Department of Energy and Climate Change, can get underway.
The project aims to increase the availability of different forms of renewable energy and because it uses the by-products of wetlands management such as reeds, rushes and scrub, the project is set to benefit wading birds.
Eleanor Mackintosh, the CNPA’s planning committee convener commented: “I think this is a really interesting project and I am happy to support the planning application. We are keen to encourage innovative projects like this that will increase renewable energy sources, helping to reduce the Park’s carbon footprint. With Badenoch and Strathspey being the most important mainland area in the UK for breeding farmland waders it can only be a good thing.”
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