January 4, 2012
Scotland

Eight single wind turbine applications withdrawn

Kincardineshire Observer, www.kincardineshireobserver.co.uk 4 January 2012

Applications lodged for wind turbines in the Kincardine and Mearns area have been withdrawn.

The applications were all lodged in October for single 51m to blade tip wind turbines in eight different locations between Netherley and Laurencekirk.

All of the applications were lodged by Andrew Hughes of Intelligent Land Investments and used the agent the Waterman Group.

The turbines were proposed for; Land to the West of Ambleside in Netherley, Land at Brucewells Netherley, Land at Upperwindings at Feteresso and five different sites in Laurencekirk at Gossesslie farm, Scotston, Waterlair, Caldhame Farmhouse and Upper Powburn. The eight application received a total of 37 representations between them. One lrepresentation said: “The whole landscape of the North East of Scotland is being systematically destroyed by the erection of these machines, it is the industrialisation of the Countryside.” Another representation described the proposal of building a wind turbine as being a “complete proliferation of a beautiful rural valley.”

The reason for why the applications have been withdrawn is unknown and when contacted no-one at the Waterman Group or Intelligent Land Investments was available to comment.

The company who originally lodged the plans, Intelligent Land Investments (ILI) states on its website:

“The company is focused on building an intelligent brand in the Renewable energy sector. This is being achieved by structuring a business strategy which puts the landowner first.”

ILI aims to offer Scottish farmers a way of unlocking some of the value of their land while doing some good for the environment. The company promises farmers a guaranteed £20,000 a year for the next twenty years if they allow ILI to erect a 50-kilowatt wind turbine, which is capable of powering about 350 homes. If planners had approved the projects, the company and the farmer would have cashed in on the government’s feed-in tariff, which was launched in April 2010. The subsidy aims to encourage the development of renewable power by allowing investment in small-scale low-carbon electricity, in return for guaranteed payment for the power that is produced over the next twenty years.

There are a number of wind-turbine proposals currently active in the Mearns and Kincardine area, information applications can be found on the Aberdeenshire Council website.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/01/04/eight-single-wind-turbine-applications-withdrawn/