Interactive map shows all 1,300 major renewable energy developments across Scottish Highlands

A map showing all major developments related to renewable energy in the Scottish Highlands has gone live.

The digital feature on the Highland Council website shows what already exists on the ground, but also projects that are in planning process.

These include pump storage, wind farm, energy storage, transmission grid, transmission switching substations and convertor infrastructure, hydro and other relevant developments.

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A total of 1,305 records of applications are included in the map, which provides key information for each development with a link to each planning case file.

New map shows all major renewable developments in Highlands | Highland Council

The move comes after councillor Helen Crawford (Conservative), of Aird and Highland Ward, lodged a motion last year calling for a real-time map of such developments.

The council had separate interactive maps online for wind farms and hydro developments, but Cllr Crawford said they were “woefully inadequate and out of date” and that no map showed the entire planning picture when it came to renewables.

Councillor Helen Crawford (Conservative), of Aird and Highland Ward | Helen Crawford

Councillors from all parties agreed to fund the map in September last year, with the move gaining support of more than 60 community councils across the Highlands.

Cllr Crawford said: “It’s taken over six months to get this. I understand the mapping is not perfect by any means and, having spoken to some communities, there are still some major developments not on there.

“I think more information and more sophisticated visual GIS layers can be added, but this is at least a very welcome start.”

Cllr Crawford said a loan of about £90,000 was used for the technical creation of the map, which she was not involved in.

She said: “Up until now, people have tried to make maps on their own as volunteers in their communities. But this is the sort of thing that should be done by our local authority.

“It’s a democratic deficit and glaring deficit that it hasn’t been done before now. This map, with a bit more improvement, gives an overview and an authoritative overview of the enormity of the applications. A picture is worth a thousand words.”

Cllr Crafwford’s motion also calls for urgent action on better equipping communities regarding the planning process by providing training on dealing with big energy applications and for better engagement with communities impacted.

Cllr Ken Gowans, chairman of the council’s economy and infrastructure committee, said “This is an incredible piece of work that will assist our communities greatly with finding a significant amount of information related to energy related development within Highland in one map.”

The council said it aims to provide an online training video on how to use the mapping resource so that users can get the most out the information available.

Lyndsey Ward, member of community group Communities B4 Power Companies, had previously written a letter to Malcolm MacLeod, assistant chief executive of Highland Council, saying the map was “essential”. She argued communities were finding it “almost impossible” to keep track of incoming applications.

The letter said communities were “drowning” in applications and often felt “kept in the dark” on big energy projects.

The map can be accessed here.