PLANS to build a power plant in the Clackmannanshire countryside have again been thwarted after an appeal to Scottish ministers was thrown out.

Greenock-based company Fishcross Generation Limited had challenged Clackmannanshire Council’s refusal of its application seeking permission to erect a gas peaking plant on agricultural land to the west of Fishcross.

However, a Scottish Government Reporter has now upheld the council’s decision – suggesting the development would be an “incongruous intrusion” into an area of attractive countryside.  

The company behind the proposals argued the plant would generate electricity at short notice to supply the National Grid at periods where there is stress or fluctuations in the grid, or constraints on other electricity generation sources. 

The electricity generated would have also been fed into the grid at the nearby electricity substation on Collyland Road. 

Nevertheless, Clackmannanshire Council’s planning committee agreed with the recommendation of planning officers to refuse consent for the project in May, saying it did not comply with a number of Local Development Plan policies.

While Fishcross Generation Limited submitted an appeal, the Scottish Government Reporter has now dismissed that and agreed with the initial decision of councillors.

The Reporter`s assessment of considerations included the evidence available to show that the proposal would fit within a strategic network of plants, where gaps needed to be filled, the requirement to locate the development close to the substation, and the need for gas peaking plants to maintain a secure energy supply and help support the expansion of renewable electricity generation.