Ineos is seeking planning permission from the Falkirk Council – the governing body that has jurisdiction for Grangemouth – to build a new energy plant and pipe bridge near Bo’ness Road, a public highway that transverses its mammoth chemical complex.

According to the planning documents, the proposed development would have capacity to produce up to 435 megawatts of high pressure steam that would be fed into production processes used at the Grangemouth plants, with additional capacity to generate up to 35 megawatts of electricity. Any energy not used on-site would be exported to the grid via the existing grid connection.

The site is designated to be linked to the existing infrastructure of the Grangemouth complex and would consist of three boilers, with associated flues, to generate superheated high pressure steam.

Ineos said the proposed facilities are required to provide a contingency source of steam and electrical power generation to support continuity of supply at the chemical complex and “assure its long-term viability.”  The development would not increase overall electrical power generation at but rather replace the energy currently generated by an existing plant scheduled to be decommissioned.

To provide the required connection to the rest of the site, the chemical group wants to build a pipe bridge across Bo’ness Road, and this aspect of the plans will undoubtedly prove to be controversial.

At Ineos’ instigation, a 150-meter stretch of the highway was closed in March 2015 to facilitate work on a pipe bridge in preparation for a new storage tank as part of a £450 million site upgrade designed in particular to facilitate imports of US shale-gas derived ethane.

The road was reopened following the work, but Ineos has repeatedly called for it to be closed again, citing safety issues. Caught in a vice between business interests and the interests of the voting population, the council passed the decision to the Scottish government, in whose hands it remains.

At the time, John McNally, CEO of Ineos 0&P UK, said that having a public highway run through a chemical complex was “clearly not best practice” and, moreover, gave rise long term concerns. With the road open, he said Ineos would have an “added burden” to protect the safety of the public, while expanding its facilities.

Resentment against the group’s road closure request is rampant in parts of the local population, where it is argued that the route around the chemical complex represents a time-consuming detour for commuters. Many also have questioned a company’s right to close a public road.