November 12, 2014
Scotland

Windfarm firm bids to change route of cables at Angus berry farm

By Graeme Strachan | The Courier | 12 November 2014 | www.thecourier.co.uk

Renewable energy company Seagreen has lodged an application to change the route of its underground cables at a berry-growing farm in Angus.

The company wants to alter the course of the line that will carry power from its proposed giant £10 billion windfarm off the Angus coast.

The new route is at Balhungie Farm, off the A92, and is being sought to avoid an area of polytunnels following feedback from the landowner.

The nature of the development which is proposed (underground export cables, cable joint bays and ancillary works) is identical to that forming part of the existing planning permission and it is only the route of the underground cables which will change.

The proposed alternative route runs east to west across the field to the south of the polytunnels and the farm reservoir.

Once across the Buddon Burn the route runs northwards before rejoining the original route adjacent to Balhungie Farm.

The proposed new section of the route will link to the overall cable route between Carnoustie and Tealing which is required to connect the Seagreen Alpha and Seagreen Bravo offshore windfarms to the national electricity transmission network (grid).

Seagreen, a partnership between Scottish and Southern Energy and Fluor Limited, is seeking consent from Marine Scotland to erect up to 150 turbines in two separate windfarm developments off the Angus coast.

They would each have a capacity of 525 MW and accommodate up to 75 wind turbines and supporting infrastructure of subsea cables, offshore substation platforms and meteorological masts.

The planning application states: “After submission of the application, Seagreen became aware of concerns over the potential impacts of the proposed route on existing polytunnels and associated irrigation infrastructure at Balhungie.

“These concerns were stated in a letter of representation submitted on behalf of the landowner at Balhungie in response to the extant PPP application.

“Following the grant of the extant PPP by Angus Council, Seagreen undertook further discussion with the owner of Balhungie Farm in response to the concerns over the approved route.

“It was confirmed that construction of the approved route would potentially require removal and reinstatement of a number of polytunnels, resulting in a period of temporary disruption over the duration of construction works.

“Although the approved route does not have a detrimental impact on the viability of the overall farming unit at Balhungie, an alternative route is preferred by the landowner to avoid potential impacts on the polytunnels during construction.”


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2014/11/12/windfarm-firm-bids-to-change-route-of-cables-at-angus-berry-farm/