SCOTTISH POWER: WHERE'S THE SALT?

RAP LAUCH a WEBSITE - AND DROP A NUKE ON SCOTTISH POWER: WHERE'S THE SALT?

In a meeting of journalists, photographers and invited guests at Woodside Golf Club, RAP formally launched this website and highlighted a fundamental failure in Scottish Power's plans for the gas plant: under the heading "WHERE'S THE SALT?" RAP's experts pointed out that safety standards, established by British Gas Storage (now Dynergy), are not being adhered to by Scottish Power.

Data indicate that there is an insufficient depth of salt at the planned site, to store the gas safely. To meet the desirable safety standards, would require cavities much nearer the surface, which at this shallower depth, would call into question the economic viability of the project.

Indeed, British Gas Storage are on record as having stated that the shallow salt deposits in Cheshire are unsuitable for large volume gas storage and that the only sites in the UK are in NE England, where the salt is 3 times the depth of that in Cheshire. Since British Gas Storage's views are public knowledge, to ignore them represents a potentially catastrophic oversight by Scottish Power, for whom this represents their first foray into salt cavity gas storage. Said a RAP spokesman: "Remember, it's not RAP who have set the safety parameters, it's British Gas Storage, so let Scottish Power argue with them as to why they have chosen not to adopt them!" Meanwhile this looks so serious that it calls into question Scottish Power's technical expertise.

Are these really the people to be entrusted with such a high risk project, where safety considerations should be absolute?