January 24, 2008
Scotland
Scotland
Plans for a possible windfarm up Glen Lethnot are still alive, the Brechiner has learned.
But proposals are still in their infancy and the erection of any turbines on the site could be as much as eight years away, the company behind the scheme has revealed.
Last year Renewable Energy Systems told members of Inveresk Community Council that they were in the very early stages of an investigation into a site on and around the Peat Hill area.
At the time they revealed that they had embarked on a ‘scoping’ exercise and were looking to test the site’s suitability.
If wind speeds were consistent enough and problems over a connection to the national grid could be ironed out, they added that they were hopeful of erecting between 20 and 25 turbines, capable of generating up to 41.25MW of electricity.
That scoping exercise is now complete, but the company has confirmed that issues raised by Angus Council officers over the proposals has led to a further reassessment of the plans.
Speaking to the Brechiner, Alan McIntyre at RES said: “The scoping exercise… was recently completed for a proposed wind farm at Careston Estate.
“The response from Angus Council on this scoping request was that they had some concerns regarding the environmental impact and the compatibility of their Development Plan policy with our proposal.
“In line with the council’s concerns, at this early stage, we have initiated a reassessment process to examine the council’s concerns in further detail prior to making a decision to move forward with a planning application for this site.
“We are also waiting to hear from the grid operator regarding realistic connection opportunities which would allow a connection prior to 2016 (our current connection date)… apologies I cannot provide you with more detail at this very early stage of the development process,” he added.
Confirmation of these new developments comes a week after members of Inveresk Community Council asked about the windfarm’s progress as part of their latest monthly meeting.
During discussions between RES and the community council last summer the renewables company revealed a number of details about the site and also promised to meet with the public if or when a planning application was put forward – which they believed would be some time in 2008 at the earliest.
It was the turn of the new year which prompted the community councillors’ latest queries, and the body agreed to write a letter to RES asking about the current state-of-play.
Under the proposals as they stood during the summer the 20 to 25 turbine site would be visible from 16 locations in Angus – including local spots such the Catterthuns, and further afield in Montrose basin, parts of Glen Clova, Kirriemuir’s Camera Obscura and the Balmashanner memorial outside Forfar.
The turbines are also expected to stand roughly 90 to 100 metres tall at the tip of their tallest blade, and construction on the site would last up to a year.
It is unsure if any of these details will remain unaltered after the new reassessment.
The summit of Peat Hill is roughly three-and-a-half miles west-south-west of Lethnot and four-and-a-half miles north-west of Menmuir.
By Philip Murray
23 January 2008
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2008/01/24/glen-lethnot-windfarm-remains-a-possibility/