Concerns raised over proposed green hydrogen plant in Clydebank

Proposals for a green hydrogen site that is said to decarbonise the whisky production at the distillery on Great Western Road were met with concern at the event in their visitors centre.

Residents from the homes next to the distillery say they are worried about the impact that the new site would have including the stability of hydrogen, potential impacts on health and the de-valuation of their properties.

The plans are in the consultation stage and are due to be submitted to West Dunbartonshire Council in November 2024.

Consultation event at Auchentoshan Distillery (Image: Newsquest) At the event on Thursday, a group of residents was given an opportunity to talk with those involved in the process and voice their worries. However, the Clydebank Post reporter was not allowed in at this stage. 

An online petition against the proposals has so far received 362 signatures within six days of being started.

The pylon where the development would be from the distance of a resident's back garden (Image: Newsquest) Following the meeting, one local resident said: “I just get the impression that what they have done is over and above what they have to do, do they think it's just going to go ahead and are we wasting our time?

“I look right onto the fields. We are all in a stretch of houses. I'm like 93 metres to where this is going to be.

“It’s an unproven technique. They keep saying it's cutting edge and all I hear is experimental. Hydrogen is highly explosive, think of the Hindenberg disaster. I came here to listen to what they had to say but next time I’ll have more questions.”

Another local said: “We are not against going green we just don’t want it on our doorstep.

“We asked them questions and they couldn’t give us answers. They are telling us it doesn’t put up the emissions.

“They say it will bring 130 new jobs but it's not, they are just construction jobs. Apparently, it will only create three or four. It’s not bringing anything to the community.”

Along with these concerns was a worry about the safety of using hydrogen. One resident told the Post: “It’s a massive safety issue, there's been experimenting with cars for years and there's no way past what happens if they crash.

“There is evidence that NOx (nitric oxide) respiratory exposure can be associated with asthma, heart disease, diabetes and more.

“What’s the blast radius for it? They say they are going to build four-metre walls around the site, how is that going to look?”

Concerns over whether the hydrogen would produce NOx is disputed by the distillery.

Suzanne Wilson, project manager, said: “We are one of the first to go into planning to decarbonise whisky production. We wanted to let the public know and let them have an opportunity to come down and see what it's about.

“It’s the most important part to consult the public. We are working towards community engagement. We are not even at the design stage yet, so this is really early on that we are getting the community involved.

“They did feasibility studies on types of renewables and hydrogen was the most acceptable. We are just switching from natural gas to hydrogen.

“It will improve emission standards for the distillery. It's costing the distillery more to do this and they want to demonstrate longevity in this community.

“Hydrogen has been used in industry for a hundred years, it's not a new gas. It feels new because it hasn’t been used this way.

“We are used to working within the standards and including safety processes. It’s very closely monitored and particularly engineered. We wouldn’t put a site here if we thought there was a safety risk.”