Wind Watch is a registered educational charity, founded in 2005. |
Assurances made over Angus windfarms
Credit: 11 December 2012 | www.kirriemuirherald.co.uk | www.forfardispatch.co.uk ~~
Translate: FROM English | TO English
Translate: FROM English | TO English
The developer in charge of the St Mary’s Well Wind Farm development say there is no reason to fear that Angus will become saturated by windfarms.
Concerns are frequently raised by locals who feel that there is a chance Angus will become overpopulated with wind turbines. However, due to a number of constraints it is unlikely that this will happen.
With Forfar being one of the main areas highlighted as a concern, Element Power have stated that the town will not be over run with turbines.
Neil Lindsay, project manager for the St Mary’s Well development, said: “Since the start of the commercial scale windfarm development in Scotland in 1995, Angus Council has only consented four applications of over 80 metres to tip.
“By contrast, the neighbouring councils of Perth and Kinross and Aberdeenshire have consented 147 and 187 commercial scale wind turbines respectively, actively helping to achieve both Scottish and UK Government Carbon Savings and Renewable Energy Generation targets.”
Constraints fall under a number of headings such as environmental, cultural, aviation and infrastructure.
Developers will also usually look only at sites with wind speeds exceeding seven metres per second. In Angus as a whole this leaves very little room for development opportunities.
The number of opportunities is reduced even further when grid availability is introduced as a factor. Small projects of under five wind turbines are unlikely to be viable with grid connections over 10km. As they must be no further than 10km away from a 33KV substation this reduces the area even further.
The local authority also has a number of self-imposed constraints such as being against development in the glens or on coastal areas.
Turbines must also not be places near dwellings, utilities, steep slopes or watercourses. and so the number of opportunities falls yet further.
Many of the spaces left that are eligible for development are in areas far from towns and villages.
Tell us what you think at news@forfardispatch.com
This article is the work of the source indicated. Any opinions expressed in it are not necessarily those of National Wind Watch.
The copyright of this article resides with the author or publisher indicated. As part of its noncommercial educational effort to present the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development to a global audience seeking such information, National Wind Watch endeavors to observe “fair use” as provided for in section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law and similar “fair dealing” provisions of the copyright laws of other nations. Send requests to excerpt, general inquiries, and comments via e-mail.
Wind Watch relies entirely on User Contributions |
(via Stripe) |
(via Paypal) |
Share: