Site Information
Where will the site be located?
The site area will be approximately 9.8 hectares in total.
SITE MAP
Site Boundary
HIGHWAYS
HEALTH & SAFETY
WATER USAGE
SMELL
LIGHTING
BIODIVERSITY
JOBS
VISUAL IMPACT
INPUTS & OUTPUTS
Highways
From feedback at the last public consultation, Acorn has carefully considered mitigating the traffic impact on local residents.
ROUTING
The proposed site is located on agricultural land west of the village of Longmorn, adjacent to the A941.
Our current traffic forecast indicates that for the majority of the year (excluding the harvest season), the proposed access/egress from the site would require approximately 43 HGV/Tractor trips per day. For reference, the A941 itself has an average traffic flow of 4,800 movements per day.
The A941 will provide the main route of access to the site.
Many of the feedstock related movements exist currently from agricultural and distillery operations so the road network will not be significant.
The location has been chosen as Acorn Bioenergy prioritise sites with feedstock partners, focussing on good connectivity to distilleries and localised supply of agricultural residues and break crops.
TIMINGS OF MOVEMENTS
Acorn aims to organise traffic movements in the least disruptive hours of the day and will avoid peak traffic times.
Agricultural deliveries will not be 24 hours. Feedstock is usually delivered from Monday to Friday from 7:00-18:00 and on Saturday from 7:00-13:00 apart from peak harvest periods, twice a year.
Operational staff will be onsite from 7:00-19:00 Monday to Sunday. The only 24-hour movements will be biomethane and biogenic CO2 offtake as this will be produced continuously.
NUMBER OF MOVEMENTS
There will be daily vehicle movements for importing distillery co-products and feedstock and exporting digestate and gas per day. There may be increases in agricultural movements during harvest periods at the end of June and mid-September.
Health & Safety
Whilst lightning strikes are extremely rare, Acorn will prepare for every eventuality by designing the digester tanks with effective lightning protection.
Acorn will be compliant with the regulation standards for lightning protection as a critical part of these control measures. It is crucial to Acorn’s values that we meet the highest health and safety standards throughout the operation of the proposed plant. In this way, Acorn will continuously adapt to extreme weather events and strengthen our plants in line with changing climates and regulation.
Biodiversity
Water Usage
Acorn will use rainwater harvested from the site and within the process to ensure sustainable water usage.
Smell
We process distillery co-products, agricultural wastes and break crops. Food waste will not be processed to avoid issues of smell. We will be strictly monitored and regulated to ensure minimal impact on local residents.
Lighting
Site lighting will be required for health and safety purposes during hours of limited daylight. The site will be designed to avoid light spill outside the site, with lighting directed away from hedgerows and trees.
New hedgerows and native trees will be planted contributing to a biodiversity net gain whilst mitigating visual impact.
Inputs & Outputs
Jobs
This facility will create approximately 15 full-time jobs including 4-5 on-site workers.
Visual Impact
The site benefits from significant screening, owing to the abundance of mature trees and smaller trees on its north, north east and west borders. Additionally, screening will be provided from mature trees planted along the southern borders.
Feedstocks will enter the site and, digestate and gas will leave the site by HGVs and farmyard vehicles.