August 16, 2007
Scotland

Margree windfarm down by eight turbines

Developers behind a windfarm proposal at Margree have reduced the scheme by eight turbines.

North British Windpower originally submitted an application to the council to build 25 turbines, close to the proposed Blackcraig site.

But after further dialogue with the council and other statutory groups like Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), the company have come up with a revised project they believe should win approval.

Concerns were raised regarding the “clustered layout” and the design of the windfarm.

But those issues appear to have been addressed with the application now out for further consultation.

A spokesman for the company told the ‘News’: “Some of the comments that came back were that our layout wasn’t the same as other windfarms.

“The current thinking is to spread turbines out than have them in a cluster.

“We have tried to conform our application and we still think it is a viable proposal.

“We felt we had a strong application in the first instance.

“But we have tried to take on board as much as we could which is why the design and layout has been changed.”

An environmental statement reports that fewer turbines has led to a reduction in other elements of the proposal such as access tracks and crane hardstandings.

The statement says the new scheme compliments a nearby existing windfarm at Wether Hill – and lessens the cumulative effect on a potential development at Blackcraig.

The site would be concealed from a number of locations but part of it would be visible from the Southern Upland Way.

Layout modifications include the removal of a grid pattern and a reduction in turbine height to 120 metres.

Some of them will be moved to a different area following representations made by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) in relation to low-flying exercises.

The statement concludes: “Overall the changes to the proposed windfarm have resulted in an improvement to the scheme which in light of the revised assessments is generally considered to have fewer environmental effects than reported in the original statement.”

icdumfries

16 August 2007


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2007/08/16/margree-windfarm-down-by-eight-turbines/