Scottish Sea Farms and green energy partner AMP Clean Energy have hosted a visit from UK Government Minister for Scotland, David Duguid – part of a day-long tour to see the progress being made towards becoming a net zero nation.
Mr Duguid was given a one-hour tour of the salmon grower’s new £58M Barcaldine Hatchery near Oban in Argyll and Bute, taking in technologies such as the hatchery’s 600kW biomass energy system and its recirculating aquaculture system (RAS).
Leading the tour was Scottish Sea Farms head of sustainability, Anne Anderson who said, “Like any food producer, we’re working hard to minimise any impact from our activities on the environment, from our marine farms to our processing and packing facilities, through to essential support services such as IT and logistics.”
Owned, installed and maintained by AMP Clean Energy, the biomass energy system uses locally sourced, sustainably managed wood chip to provide the 17,500 sqm building with much of its heat and hot water, saving 683 tonnes of carbon a year compared with using oil.
Also on show was the facility’s RAS which cleans and recirculates up to 98% of freshwater used per day, equating to a saving of more than 20 times the freshwater consumption of conventional hatchery methods.
During his tour, the minister also visited pumped storage hydro-electric Cruachan Power Station and the Scottish Association for Marine Science, followed by a meeting with representatives of the Community Inshore Fisheries Alliance, Clyde Fishermen's Association and Fishermen's Trust Infrastructure Project.
