Exclusive:'The new Scottish Clearances': Rural communities 'abandoned' in industrial-scale changes under net zero push

In the first part of a new week-long series looking at the dilemma posed by net zero infrastructure, communities across Scotland have said the changes already seen are just “the tip of the iceberg” of what’s to come.

Two decades on from when wind farms were first proposed in a community in East Renfrewshire, little remains of what the area once was.

“It’s a wasteland now,” says Aileen Jackson, from Scotland Against Spin (SAS), a group that receives between 50 and 100 requests a week from residents across the country asking for advice on how to handle applications.

“We were the first to be written off in this when there was no more room for turbines in the Central Belt.”

The council area, which is about 67 square miles, is home to the UK’s largest onshore wind farm to date, Whitelee. The development holds 215 turbines on Eaglesham Moor and has plans for battery storage, a hydrogen plant and some solar panels.

Ms Jackson, whose home is less than one mile from turbines, said it makes the local authority home to the highest concentration of wind farms per area in Scotland.

Offshore wind must more than quadruple by the end of the decade to reach the Government's target. PA | PA

ScottishPower Renewables (SPR) said some 100,000 visitors visit the wind farm each year, which has 81 miles of tracks used by communities for walking, running, cycling and horse riding.

A spokesperson for the company said it had provided community benefit funding of over £17 million and its own Whitelee’s visitor centre had been awarded the Green Flag for tourism.

But Ms Jackson said the community “is only seeing the tip of the iceberg.”

“It’s not what we’ve got at the moment,” she said. “It’s what’s to come that’s terrifying.

Ms Jackson says the red lights at night from the turbines round her home remind her of Mordor | Aileen Jackson

“What really upsets us as well is that East Renfrewshire was the recreational lung for the people who live in the city. But now they have no green space left, unless they want to go to and walk among wind turbines.

“I am 66. I am never going to see these hills again without this clutter. It’s devastating.”

With no more space for large wind farms, East Renfrewshire council is receiving applications for single turbines.

“We are now getting a new wind farm by stealth it seems,” Ms Jackson said. “They are scattered everywhere and are all different sizes. All have different rotation speeds, which means they all make different noises.”

On the other side of Whitelee, in the next door region of East Ayrshire, residents say they have the highest concentration of industrial sized turbines sited around towns.

“I can see 27 turbines from my bathroom window,” said Dr Rachel Connor, who claimed Whitelee caused local water contamination, which was later dismissed by SPR.

Dr Rachel Connor, who can see 27 turbines from her bathroom alone | Dr Rachel Connor

“We’ve lost five rural properties in our area due to the wind farms. They were all running as family homes and they’ve all either been demolished or left to become derelict.

“It’s the new Scottish Clearances. If I honestly believed it made a difference, then I would suck it up.

“I just think we’re being sold a pup. All this time and we are still paying through the nose for bills.”

Ms Jackson and Dr Connor, among other campaigners, have said they are the canary in the coalmine for what is to come for other communities as Scotland ramps up its onshore renewable energy developments.

In the Scottish Borders, those in Newcastleton, a village of about 750 people, have been working together to make their remote mainland community more resilient.

“When there are power cuts here, we’re left for days,” said Jim Lewis, head of Newcastleton Community Council. “We often feel abandoned.”

Jim Lewis, chair of Newcastleton Community Council, said residents are scared of the numbers of Net Zero-related projects in planning for the area | Jim Lewis

But the village, he said, was now feeling even more powerless in the face of what residents have described as “a cluster bomb” of net zero developments from onshore wind to forestry.

“We’re a small community and we’re being turned into an industrialised area,” Mr Lewis said.

“Rural communities are getting [run] over. The numbers that are yet to come are scary and people are feeling scared about the impact. It’s the cumulative effect we’re starting to notice.”

Newcastleton residents said they feel scared about the changes that are to come with multiple wind farm and forestry projects in planning and scoping | Newcastleton Community Council

In the Teviot and Liddesdale area, a locality in the Scottish Borders which includes Newcastleton, community groups have said there are at least 200 to 300 turbines either in planning or in scoping.

This includes a section 36 application - for large turbines to be decided by ministers - which was rejected by the Scottish Borders council. Plans for the 52 up to 240m high turbines for Upper Teviot will be going to public inquiry.

The south of Scotland is home to more than a fifth of Scotland’s existing onshore wind capacity, a South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE) study found. In Dumfries and Galloway, locals have nicknamed an area “wind farm alley” because of the sheer number of turbines.

A derelict property in the middle of windfarm alley which appeared to have work being done on it | Katharine Hay

Some communities have felt supported by community benefit funds, which are not mandatory for developers.

In New Luce, a pub has flourished thanks to money from SPR’s Kilgallioch wind farm and some residents are given taxi vouchers and about £200 off bills each year.

Kenmuir Arms Hotel, in New Luce, which was bought and refurbished by the community using money from surrounding wind farms | Katharine Hay

Karen Stewart, who is on the board of the Kilgallioch Community Fund, previously told The Scotsman the benefits of the community funding outweighed the disadvantages of the wind farms because money was coming into the community.

Others, however, have argued the funding is more a bribe and is disproportionate to the impact the projects have on the landscape they call home.

A model made my a Hands off Our Hills campaigner showing turbines in and around wind farm alley | Katharine Hay

The UK government is consulting on the potential introduction of a mandatory community benefits scheme for low carbon energy infrastructure.

Without this in place, Scottish councillors have previously said developers can “make empty promises and let communities down”.

The Scotsman has launched a new series 'The Net Zero Dilemma' | Gavin Munro/Scotsman

Up in the Highlands, however, communities have taken this further, saying they feel neglected from the outset.

Earlier this month, ministers, led by Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes, met to discuss a research report that proposed a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” to make the Highlands a centre for renewable energy, and in the course of it create “tens of thousands of jobs” and secure £100 billion worth of investment.

Councillor Helen Crawford and deputy first minister Kate Forbes | Supplied and PA

But organisers have been accused of keeping the event “low key” and not inviting local voices and tourism bodies to it.

Highland councillor Helen Crawford, who attended the discussion, said: “What struck me really forcibly was the absolute lack of any discussion regarding what is the backbone of the Highland economy which is tourism. It was not evident that it has any way been considered in terms of what the impact would be and that voice is essentially silent from the table.

“Likewise there was no voice for our communities and what is the compensation impacted communities are going to get from the loss of value of their homes. There was no attempt to bring these people into the conversation.”

According to Scottish Government figures, there are 82 live applications for section 36 onshore wind farms alone. These are large-scale wind farms that can generate capacity exceeding 50 megawatts and require specific consent from ministers. Figures show there are an extra 71 in scoping.

The Scottish Government said: “We are analysing the responses to a public consultation on the review of our Good Practice Principles for community benefits from onshore and offshore renewables. The evidence gathered will inform a refresh of our guidance to ensure that our community benefit arrangements deliver sustainable, meaningful impacts and help support our just and fair transition to net zero.

“The Scottish Government has been calling on successive UK Governments to mandate community benefits and is pleased that the current UK Government has last week launched a working paper on this. Communities must see the benefits from developments.”

The spokesperson added: “Applications are subject to site-specific assessments, and impacts on local communities, including any cumulative impacts, are important considerations.”

Tomorrow’s edition of the series will look at industry voices calling for the need to double onshore developments in the next five years.