Skye landowner who turned down three wind farms says developments will 'change the island forever'

An inquiry is being held into plans to repower the Ben Aketil wind farm, between Dunvegan and Portree

His family have called the island and surrounding areas their home for the last 700 years.

But Charles MacDonald, a landowner on Skye, said the land holding his Hebridean roots is set to change forever with the onset of wind farm developments.

The Highland laird raised this concerns at an inquiry into plans to repower the Ben Aketil wind farm, between Dunvegan and Portree.

Charles MacDonald, a landowner on the Isle of Skye | Katharine Hay

The development, if given the green light, will see 12 100m turbines replaced with nine double the size.

Mr MacDonald, who has a farm and some crofting land, said he had been approached by three wind farm companies to build on his land, but rejected all offers.

“It was probably the hardest decision in my life because certainly the money would have been very useful but I decided to turn them all down,” he said.

Turbines standing up to 200m tall – nearly six times the height of the Skye Bridge – could be built on the internationally famous Misty Isle if new wind farm plans get the go-ahead. Picture: Andrew Robinson | Andrew Robinson

Skye is Scotland’s second most popular tourist destination, after Edinburgh | Colin/Wikimedia Commons.

“On a local level, the immediate thought is we have 16 crofting townships and any windfarm that would come would have been built on maybe one or possibly two common grazing. The other 14 townships would not have benefited from the money and that is an incredibly divisive thing.”

With blade tip heights reaching 200m, the Ben Aketil plans, lodged by Italian developers Nadara, have led to deep discontent among the Skye community, from young families to bird watchers, tourism business owners to crofters, all who gave evidence at the inquiry.

The inquiry was triggered by hundreds of objections to the project from island residents and a formal objection from Highland Council.

Ben Aketil wind farm plans showing the proposed larger turbines in red, plus a couple of other wind farm plans for the island in other colours | Katharine Hay

Increased lorry loads travelling on an already stretched island when it comes to infrastructure, the potential impact on tourism and other businesses and the industrial change to some of the island’s wildlife and ecology, including peatlands, were raised as concerns.

The development comes as a total of some 130 individual turbines are either consented, in planning or in the pipeline for the area.

Mr MacDonald added: “If all these windfarms queuing up behind Ben Aketil come to fruition this will be very, very disruptive.

“My most major worry is that repowering Ben Aketil with turbines twice the size and with the potential of more to come will change the island forever.”

Residents on Skye gathered outside the venue in Portree where the inquiry is being | Katharine Hay

The inquiry heard from landscape experts who implied the more turbines there are in a landscape, the easier it is to add more.

Some in the community have dismissed the concerns raised by those pushing back against wind farm developments on the island, arguing they could bolster economic activity.

One Skye resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said those protesting against the projects are often “a small, vocal, privileged minority.”

Ben Aketil in Skye from just above the A850 Highland Council objected to a plan to replace existing windfarm with nine new turbines that are 200 metres tall - twice the height of current model. | Andrew Robinson

Another resident said some of the concerns raised were “not fully representative of the island” and dismissed claims wind farms would impact tourism.

However, a widely shared belief across islanders was the need for improved community benefit.

In his evidence, Mr MacDonald said: “We are promised jobs and money. Certainly, school shinty teams and playgrounds get sponsorship from the developers to massage local opinion. In other regimes, this is called bribery.

“Community benefit is much touted. Truthfully, it’s pitiful. You only need look at Ben Aketil’s record to see the benefit is way less than the recommended £5,000 per megawatt (MW).

“Sharing this pot is divisive; we already see communities fighting over potential spoils. It’s very sad.

“Apart from the few who benefit from the rent here, most of the money largely leaves the island, often to multinationals who live miles away and who, in my view, don’t really have our interests at heart.”

Professor Matthew Hannon, director of the Strathclyde Institute for Sustainable Communities (SISC), previously told The Scotsman that while developers offering some sort of community benefit was widespread in the UK, Scottish Government guidance of giving £5,000 per MW of installed capacity is from 2014 and has failed to rise with inflation.

Crofter Mark Francis, who receives 1/33rd of a Grazing Committee’s earnings for a wind farm where he lives echoed concerns about genuine community benefit from developers earning large profits, including those on Skye.

In his contribution to the inquiry, Mr Francis said: “Why not community-owned wind turbines where all the profits go to the community? We could rebuild our schools, fix our roads, build hubs for the gathering of peoples without going cap in hand to the lottery or charity?

“Why are these developers not forced to donate turbines to the community, say one for every ten built, or forced to build affordable housing as part of the deal, rather than riding roughshod over these remote villages.”

READ MORE: Our community borrowed millions to build wind turbines – but it’s paid off, big time

Tears were shed by some members of the Skye community giving evidence about future wind farm and grid upgrade developments on the island.

Opera singer and mother Rhona Coogan, a Skye local, told the inquiry: “The concealed scoping taking place by external forces is reminiscent of the Highland Clearances, when a lack of consideration, respect and accessible information for the local communities resulted in a disastrous conclusion. They are preying on the naivety and trusting nature of highland communities.”

Rhona Coogan, a mother and owner of a small business on Skye, giving evidence at an inquiry into the Ben Aketil repowering plans | Katharine Hay

After hearing residents give personal statements at the inquiry, Finley Becks-Phelps, UK head of development for Nadara, said: “I fully appreciate it’s an emotive subject.

“From ourselves, as a developer, and having been in operation for many years, what we are looking forward to doing is to hopefully keep a relationship going with the community.

“There were elements I picked up from the community hearing that we need to collaborate better with other developers, not just onshore winds but also the transmission operators. I think that’s a really important point.

Finley Becks-Phelps, UK head of development for Nadara and Daniel Letch, Ben Aketil Wind Farm Repowering Project Manager, attending the inquiry in Portree this week | Katharine Hay

“I think there is an element of unknown and change and trying to understand what that looks like. At the moment, everyone hears different stories from different developers and I think there’s an onus on us as developers to communicate what may or may not happen in the future.”

Mr Becks-Phelps said there has been community benefit issued to residents on Skye from the Ben Aketil wind farm, adding: “The numbers have changed and we are looking at much bigger numbers, which can be exciting.

“One of our desires is to work more closely with the community to make sure that money does come forward as a genuine tangible benefit. It can be done, but it needs to be a collaboration with everyone involved.”

The inquiry continues.