The claim has been made by Dutch-owned windfarm firm Infinergy, who along with Cawdor Estate are behind proposals for the 17-turbine farm at Tom nan Clach.

It comes in response to strong criticisms aired at a meeting organised in Carrbridge Village Hall on Wednesday evening by the village's community council to discuss the proposed development.

A spokesperson for Infinergy said in a statement: "There is no evidence to suggest that wind farms adversely affect tourism; indeed a number of wind farms have become tourist attractions in their own right, and tourism providers and wind farms happily co-exist all over the country.

"In many cases, wind farms have helped to open up access for cyclists and walkers."

The Tom nan Clach proposal, submitted by the developers under the name Nanclach, is next to 31 turbines planned as part of the Glenkirk windfarm on the Dava hills between Tomatin and Lochindorb.

Campaigners have said that if approved, the windfarms will be highly visible from the A9 Inverness-Perth road in the Tomatin area, and from historic Lochindorb, once home to the Wolf of Badenoch, Alexander Stewart.

Another of the major concerns highlighted at the meeting, attended by more than 60 objectors, is the impact of construction traffic for Tom nan Clach on local villages.

Up to 66 extra vehicles a day – 20 HGVs and 46 light vehicles – would be using local roads on a daily basis during the six-month construction phase: a figure which the developers described as "light traffic".

Furthermore, the B9007 has a 60mph speed limit but no lane markings, concerned residents have pointed out.

Mrs Kate Clark, who owns and manages a self-catering apartment business at the Old School, Duthil, by the B9007, is appalled by the prospect.

"The traffic that goes up the road is already unsafe, and with the extra traffic it will be even worse," said Mrs Clark, who relocated from Inverness a year ago to start her holiday business.

Mrs Clark said that her guests were attracted to her accommodation because it was secluded and quiet, and she has sunk her life savings into the business. "The effect of this traffic is going to be catastrophic," she said.

She added that she recognised the threat posed by global warming and would welcome alternative energy sources if they were proven to be reliable.

Another local resident, Linda Selvey, who lives with her tree surgeon partner, Colin Smith, and their two-year-old son, Jamie, is also unhappy.

She said: "The B9007 is not a good road, and the junction we live on is very difficult. You can't see anything coming from the left-hand side, and there isn't room on it for lorries. The road also twists and turns a lot."

Ms Jeannie Munro, chair of the Save the Dava group, has been a long-time opponent of the proposals for wind farms. She said: "They are leaving us with the land, but taking the landscape."

She attacked landowners for "making a fast buck", and said that the five projects currently planned for the area, rather than benefiting the environment, would case more harm.

Another point of contention is the export of energy generated by the turbines beyond Scottish borders: "Scotland exports 25 per cent of its energy, so we do not need this," she said.

Peat bogs surround Lochindorb, and according to Ms Munro, contain 10,000 years' worth of carbon dioxide.

She said: "Peat is one of the very best eco-systems for storing CO2. It is not a case of whether you believe in global warming or not; you are destroying your greatest asset for preventing it."

Mr Sandy Walker, a retired soil scientist who lives in Grantown, agreed. Referring to a cycle track that had been constructed across the peat in the area, he said: "Within two years, you could have lost the Queen Mary in the erosion."

Infinergy pointed out that 66 vehicle movements referred to single journeys, and that most of the traffic would not be going through Carrbridge but taking a longer route, missing the village.

She said the turbines would be transported from Inverness Harbour in their component parts and then taken via the A9 to the Granish turn-off by Aviemore and the A95 (east), before turning onto the A938, heading westwards and onwards on the B9007.

She also addressed other concerns that had been raised at the meeting.

The spokeswoman continued: "Work on this application has been underway for many years, so nobody could suggest it was a fast process.

"The original scoping report went in to Highland Council in August, 2005. The process of finding the most suitable access for construction traffic alone has taken more than two years.

"We have followed the standard process for any wind farm planning application.

All energy produced by the wind farm would feed into the national grid, the spokeswoman said.

Commenting on Co2 concerns, she said: "The Tom Nan Clach wind farm is designed in such a way that deeper-set peat bogs will be avoided during construction.

"The carbon payback time for the removal of peat on the wind farm has been calculated as 7.4 months as the worst case scenario compared to electricity produced by a grid mix of electricity generators."

There are proposals to site more than 130 giant turbines, each around 425 feet high, in and around the Dava, also including sites at Berryburn and Cairn Duhie.

Representations on the Tom Nan Clach wind farm must be submitted to Highland Council – the planning authority for the application – by September 28.

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