December 11, 2012
Scotland

Assurances made over Angus windfarms

11 December 2012 | www.kirriemuirherald.co.uk | www.forfardispatch.co.uk

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.

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URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/12/11/assurances-made-over-angus-windfarms/