Octopus Energy’s green reputation ‘going up in smoke’

Environmental groups which are opposed to a new waste incinerator plant being built in Irvine, have said that they are ‘desperately disappointed’ that the owners, Octopus Energy, are doubling down on the decision to invest in the waste burner.  

Octopus Energy is one of the largest energy companies in the UK and claims to generate and supply renewable energy, promising to work closely with communities. 

In 2024, a BBC investigation found that energy from incinerators was the dirtiest form of energy generation in the UK, worse even than coal. Energy generated from burning waste cannot be considered renewable as the waste can only be burnt once. 

The incinerator, which will burn 180,000 tonnes of rubbish a year, is being built on the Oldhall West Industrial Estate between the towns of Irvine and Dreghorn in North Ayrshire. An operating permit was granted by SEPA last year, despite a Scottish Government ban on new waste incinerators in Scotland and strong local opposition. Nearly 2,000 people objected to the SEPA decision citing concerns about harms to public health, climate breakdown, and impairing recycling and reuse efforts. 

Owned and developed by Doveryard Limited, which is itself owned by funds managed by Octopus Renewables. 

Local group, Irvine Without Incinerators, has written to Octopus Energy several times asking them to withdraw funding for the Oldhall incinerator. After the decision to award a permit was made, they wrote to Greg Jackson, the founder and CEO explaining that Octopus would be backing a plant that poses health risks and environmental hazards to the local community.

A reply from an Octopus Energy employee did not respond directly to the group’s request for octopus to withdraw funding, instead stating that they believed that the Oldhall incinerator was “safe and will pose no significant risk to public health”.  

In March 2023, Asthma and Lung UK identified that North Ayrshire is one of the top-ranking areas for high rates of emergency hospital admissions and deaths for lung conditions in the UK. Irvine consistently ranked among the most deprived areas in Scotland, according to Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) data. 

Arthur West, member of the Irvine Without Incinerators campaign group said: 

“We are desperately disappointed that Octopus Energy has repeatedly ignored local concerns raised with them. People in Irvine have campaigned for years against this incinerator, fighting for our community’s right to clean air.” 

Kim Pratt, Senior Circular Economy Campaigner with Friends of the Earth Scotland said:  

“Octopus Energy have marketed themselves as the green, community-based choice for energy but by choosing profit over people and investing in the Oldhall incinerator their reputation is going up in smoke.

“Irvine is one of the most deprived areas of Scotland and now residents will have to deal with trucks bringing in waste they didn’t make and the impact of pollution from the Oldhall incinerator. Greg Jackson and Octopus Energy are determined to make as much money as possible whilst letting the people of Irvine bear the costs. 

“This is a missed opportunity to manage waste more sustainably. About half the household waste burned in Scotland could have been reused or recycled instead, creating more jobs than incineration and reduces pollution and carbon emissions too.” 

ENDS