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Wind Power News: Scotland: ''
Angus backs Neart na Gaoithe windfarm despite recognising ‘significant impacts on both landscape and seascape character’
Proposals to build a £1.4 billion windfarm off the Fife coast have cleared an Angus Council consultation hurdle. The local authority’s development standards committee approved an Angus planning response to proposals for the Neart na Gaoithe windfarm project, which aims to construct up to 125 turbines in the Firth of Forth, with each turbine reaching up to 200 metres in height. The council was asked for its response to the proposals as a statutory consultee of the Scottish Government and . . . Complete story »
Council planners warn Methil turbine would be seen by Open crowds
A massive 582ft wind turbine off the Fife coastline could affect next year’s Open golf championship at Muirfield, it has been claimed. The demonstration turbine, which would be erected 65ft off the coast at Methil, could also affect more than 60 Fife households if noise levels are higher than expected. Keith Winter, head of planning with Fife Council, said there were worries the turbine could have a ”significant negative effect” on residents and the landscape. However, he broadly welcomed the . . . Complete story »
Anti-windfarm campaigners to target SNP’s Perth conference
A protest is to be staged in Perth against what campaigners see as the ruination of Scotland’s countryside by the spread of wind turbines. Anti-windfarm campaigners will take their message to the heart of the nation’s Government during the SNP conference this month. As First Minister Alex Salmond delivers his keynote speech, hundreds will march through the city’s streets in a bid to ensure it is their voices that are heard. National campaign groups, including the Scottish Mountaineering Council and . . . Complete story »
Windfarm call to arms: Tibbermore ‘wind park’ objectors in last push
A community is gearing up for a final push as it bids to defeat plans for the creation of a controversial new windfarm in its midst. Residents have until Friday October 19 to register objections to plans for a pilot ”met mast” and then ”wind park” at Newmiln Farm, Tibbermore. The Gask and Strathearn Protection Society, set up in June with the aim of halting the project, is hoping that the community will speak out in their numbers to make . . . Complete story »
St Andrews University to appeal Kenly windfarm refusal
Members of Fife Council’s North East Fife area committee backed a recommendation from officials, in a move that will see the final decision coming through the national appeals process. In the wake of the decision, St Andrews University stepped up criticism of Fife Council, accusing it of mishandling the application and misleading councillors. The university, which wants to eventually generate all of its own energy, envisages six turbines standing 100 metres high at blade tip on land at Kenly Farms. . . . Complete story »
Kenly Landscape Protection Group accuses university of trying to ‘pressure’ council on windfarm plan
Campaigners fighting St Andrews University’s windfarm plans say they are ”puzzled and concerned” the university has not lodged an appeal with the Scottish Government – despite announcing two weeks ago it was doing so. The university – which believes it will have a better chance of a fair hearing by going to the Scottish Government – wants to generate its own energy through windpower by building six 330ft turbines at Kenly Farm near Boarhills. However, in a report to Wednesday’s Fife Council North . . . Complete story »
Council planners say St Andrews University’s Kenly windfarm plan should be refused
Hotly contested windfarm proposals by St Andrews University are being recommended for refusal by Fife Council planners. The institution – which believes it will have a better chance of a fair hearing by going to the Scottish Government – hopes to become the first university in the country to generate all its own energy through wind power by erecting six 330ft turbines at Kenly Farm, near Boarhills. However, with the application due for consideration at Fife Council’s North East Fife Area Committee . . . Complete story »
Save the Whales director warns seismic testing link to deaths is ‘very possible’
The executive director of Save The Whales says it is ”very possible” that whale deaths in the North Sea are linked to windfarm surveys. Maris Sidenstecker, executive director of the international marine conservation organisation based in California, said there was evidence in the United States of marine mammals – including whales – being killed as a result of seismic and sonar testing in the oil and gas industry. She said: ”Seismic testing and sonar testing are different and we are fighting planned . . . Complete story »
Angus farmer’s wind turbine application wins approval
A farmer has assured an Angus community that a single 246ft turbine is not the first step towards a rural windfarm. On Tuesday, the area’s development standards committee unanimously approved Alan Joiner’s application for the turbine on land west of Dunsmore, near Menmuir, despite concerns raised by Inveresk Community Council over a number of issues. The application site for the 500kW turbine is about 1.25 miles north-west of Careston and just to the north of Duns Wood. The community council’s . . . Complete story »
Team Trump say windfarm link to whale deaths would be ‘tragic’
The man who represents US property tycoon Donald Trump has said it would be ”tragic” if recent whale deaths in the North Sea were linked to windfarm sonar surveys. In an exclusive interview with The Courier, Mr Trump’s legal counsel and vice-president of the Trump Organisation George Sorial said there was ”tested and proven” worldwide evidence of the impact wind turbines could have on sea mammals once constructed and this was one of the cornerstones of the Trump Organisation’s long-standing . . . Complete story »
