Farmers advised to 'think big' on wind power

As the scale of generation increased, the benefits accruing from larger units rose disproportionately, Gavin Catto, of Green Cat Renewables, told an audience at a seminar in Perth organised by accountants Campbell Dallas.

"If you can afford the larger units, then you will make a great deal more money," he said.

However, there were a great number of hurdles for anyone contemplating entering this field of renewable energy. Planning permission has been an obstacle from the first appearance of wind energy generation and Catto said it remained so in some local authority areas, such as Angus, whereas other councils, including Aberdeenshire, took a more relaxed view.

For those with land close to either Ministry of Defence or civil aviation bases, these could put a definite no on any aspirations and their area of influence could cover a fair amount of land as they protected their radar area.

Another consideration for anyone considering adding this enterprise to their farming business was that access to the grid was essential. Catto said that a number of potential developments in Aberdeenshire were now held up because the distributor points were at full capacity and until upgrading of lines took place, these developments were stalled.

Even the question of access over a third party's land could stop a development, he said. Even if power companies had the right to go for compulsory access, the reality was they seldom took that action.

Despite these barriers to wind generation, he predicted that in an area such as Aberdeenshire, in five years' time, there would be huge economic benefits, with renewable energy becoming the third biggest industry.

Output from wind turbines would, he stated, far outweigh that of farming even in this traditionally strong agricultural area.

Earlier, Dr Elaine Booth, the climate change specialist for the Scottish Agricultural college, had outlined the issues surrounding wind farm developments using her own experience on the family farm where a single turbine started generating electricity in December.

"So far, output has been slightly less than predicted," she stated, though she pointed to the abnormal weather of the past two months. The whole development had taken four years from the start. Apart from a delay in getting planning permission, she said there was now a waiting list of about one year for many large-scale turbines.

She added that they were considering adding another two turbines as the farm was in a naturally windy location and there had been little or no local opposition to the development.

She warned that any farmer thinking about it would have to stick to the guidance given, with no short cuts. "If they say they want an approach road of certain dimensions, then that is what they expect. Do not think you can cut corners."