Anger after four out of five major wind farms approved by ministers
CAMPAIGNERS say they have little faith in the Scottish Government listening to local opinion after figures showed only five major wind farm applications have been turned down in the last four years.
Figures released by the government show since May 2007, ministers have determined 25 applications for wind farms of more than 50MW, with 20 being approved and five refused.
While smaller projects can be decided by local authorities, those over 50 megawatts (MW) must be decided at ministerial level under Section 36 of the Electricity Act.
Those refused were the 55MW Greenock wind farm, 129MW Clashindarroch wind farm in Aberdeenshire, and the Calliacher wind farm, near Aberfeldy, all in 2007; and the 652MW Lewis wind farm in the Western Isles, and 255MW Kyle wind farm in Dumfries and Galloway, in 2008.
This week, the Scottish Government announced approval of the £250 million, 177MW Dorenell wind farm on the Glenfiddich estate, near Dufftown in Moray, and a 21MW extension to the 104MW Muaitheabhal wind farm on the Eisgein estate in Lewis.
The 59-turbine Dorenell development attracted 646 objections, including one from Moray Council, but was recommended for approval after a public inquiry. The extension to the Muaitheabhal wind farm was granted despite the fact that the original project, approved in January 2010, has yet to start.
Denise Davis is among campaigners fighting the planned 23-turbine Druim Ba wind farm above Loch Ness. The project was unanimously opposed by Highland Council this year but will now be discussed at a public inquiry before the Scottish Government has the final say.
Ms Davis, who recently obtained details of Section 36 applications from a Freedom of Information request, said: “There is no point in having local authorities make decisions on large-scale developments if they are then simply ignored.”
She said a local poll on the Druim Ba development showed 98 per cent against the plan.
Ms Davis said some developers see Section 36 applications as having a better chance of succeeding because approving large schemes helps ministers achieve government energy targets of generating the equivalent of all of Scotland’s electricity needs from renewables by 2020.
In October, figures from trade body RenewableUK showed all four onshore wind-farm applications for projects of more than 50MW that went to Scottish ministers for approval last year were given the go-ahead.
The Blacklaw extension in Lanarkshire; Blackcraig in the Galloway hills; Dunmaglass, south of Inverness; and Fallago Rig in the Borders, with a cumulative capacity of 381MW, were approved. However, no schemes of more than 50MW were decided elsewhere in the UK.
The situation has angered conservation body the John Muir Trust. Helen McDade, the body’s head of policy, said approving the extension to the Muaitheabhal wind farm potentially brings further destruction to one of the UK’s best wild land areas. She added: “This approval comes before a sod has been turned on the original site.”
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said every application for wind farm development is assessed on its merits, taking into account the views of interested parties, local communities and the public.
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Weather for Edinburgh
Thursday 23 February 2012
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Wind direction: South west
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Comments
There are 30 comments to this article
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Rae B
Monday, January 2, 2012 at 07:15 PM#29 nabodican - the governments (both UK and Scottish) do compile statistics on the production by different generator types. Anyone can also check the real time contribution from wind, coal, nuclear etc at bmreports.com. From this information, the carbon savings can be calculated. Over the last year or two, if anyone has reduced their energy demand by 1kWh, or supplied 1kWh of energy from wind, hydro or nuclear, then that will have saved at least 0.43kg of CO2. Many, including myself, would argue (eg google AD Hawkes maginal carbon emission factor) that with the current UK grid mix the short run marginal factor is nearer 0.7kgCO2kWh.
nabodican
Monday, January 2, 2012 at 03:43 PMI am so pleased to see the likes of samcoldstream getting ever more frantic in his rantings. Let us hope that 2012 will be the year that the whole wind scam falls to pieces. One point I would like any of the wind supporters or politicians to answer is : As the whole purpose of wind turbines is alleged to be emission saving electricity production then why is it that nobody in government carries out any checks on the claimed emission savings by any of the wind power station developers in their environmental impact statements ?
tested
Monday, January 2, 2012 at 02:18 PM# 10 Sam "bought and paid for by the windindustry" coldstream. If you are going to insult people at least get your facts right a NIMBY is a person who although supporting a development in principle objects to it being sited in their "backyard". Most of the people who object to commercial sized wind power (i.e. those who are well informed and not profiting from windfarms) do not support them in principal. You normally infest discussions on windfarms with your anti nuke rant infering (incorrectly) that wind can replace nuclear however although you dont support nuclear here you are quite happy for french and english nuclear to keep the lights on in Scotland.
Hector the Lessor
Monday, January 2, 2012 at 09:48 AMI saw a documentary recently where a country with a lot of windfarms managed to move itself from totally diabolical weather conditions to much like those enjoyed by the Algarve. It could have been a cartoon, I was not sober at the time, but I thought it was a good idea. Anyway although it is not too sensible an idea, if you get enough windfarms and can organise the effort, I would give it a try. Historically the English have always been relatively easy to get on with, but see the weather.
Faceless_bureaucrat
Sunday, January 1, 2012 at 12:16 PM"The current energy policy of relying on wind power will ensure the de-population of Scotland..." - The Scots population of the Highlands was depopulated two centuries ago.
Faceless_bureaucrat
Sunday, January 1, 2012 at 12:07 PM#11 - Oops, you better not let "The Dear Leader" hear that one. Don't you you know people like Ms Davis (and the other +700,000 incomers) are the type of people the SNP look to, for securing the independence vote.
Ron Greer
Sunday, January 1, 2012 at 09:49 AM20 Arhtur G Wells here's your chance. What does England get out of the Union apart from cannon fodder. a windfarm colony and a berth for Trident?
Ron Greer
Sunday, January 1, 2012 at 09:47 AM16 Bananaheid. So what do we actually get from windfarms in terms of the volume of dependable, predictable electricity and benefits to climate change? Spell out your vision.
Ancient Wisdom
Sunday, January 1, 2012 at 09:34 AMDo any of these wind farms (or, for that matter, nuclear powers stations) produce more than they cost? If they exist only thanks to hidden or other subsidy then where is their economic justification?
Arthur G
Saturday, December 31, 2011 at 11:20 PM#17 Denise Davis =================================================== "But the wonderful thing is that eventually the governments wake up - they hear what the minorities have to say, comprehend it, change their direction, and outlaw the very things we were protesting against. ..." =================================================== if what you say is true, Denise, then you and I must inhabit parallel worlds, as this is not my experience in well over fifty years on 'my' planet Earth. =================================================== You must live on 'Arcadia Earth' while I have been allocated a slot on the 'Bizarro' dystopian version.
Arthur G
Saturday, December 31, 2011 at 11:10 PM#15 Richard The Lionheart "The current energy policy of relying on wind power will ensure the de-population of Scotland..." A case of someone opening his mouth before putting his brain into gear. This is a meaningless statement uttered by someone who has no real argument but wants to latch on to something,anything, that shows the Scottish Government (by a landslide, incidentally) in a bad light. Another thing that interests me is that The Scotsman always has space for tosh like this but never has enough room for any of the Unionist parties to lay out their case for the continuance of the Union, strange that. Apropos of other things: where is the fake Chuck, tonight? Has he been unmasked as the pale simulacrum of the genuine article? I think we should be told!
Gallowglass
Saturday, December 31, 2011 at 08:59 PMYou will always find blockers to change and the 'not in my backyard' brigade. It is an inevitable fact of life.
samcoldstream
Saturday, December 31, 2011 at 08:14 PM15# Like the depopulation of North-East Japan?
denise davis
Saturday, December 31, 2011 at 05:55 PMHey Dirk (no. 10), are you a FAN of me or something! Wow! Digging up articles from over a year ago off the internet! Or did you find it amongst your 'cuttings' in your scrapbook? If fighting to stop something I feel is inappropriate, uneconomical, and unethical makes me a 'nimby', then I am very proud to be one. As you will know from the cuttings you have saved about me, I have campaigned against many things as a part of once ignored and criticized minorities. But the wonderful thing is that eventually the governments wake up - they hear what the minorities have to say, comprehend it, change their direction, and outlaw the very things we were protesting against.
Deleted
Saturday, December 31, 2011 at 02:55 PMhere come the windbags. Pity we couldn't power the country with that hot air generated by the interloupers naysayers and NIMBYS. They do my head in!!!
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