Energy giant says revised plans for wind farm by Grantown has good support
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Respondents to plans for a wind farm by Grantown have said discounts on their electricity bills would be their preferred community benefit.
Cairn Duhie Wind Farm is proposed for land that lies south east of the village of Ferness and is 13.5 kilometres north to north-west of the Strathspey capital.
The original planning application was submitted in 2013 as a 20-turbine scheme and approved by the Scottish Government in October 2017.
Applicants RES said that since the application was first submitted turbine technology has advanced significantly and is now seeking permission for 16 turbines.
Whilst the proposal lies within the same site boundary area, turbine heights and locations will change.
RES has said a public consultation held in May 2020 demonstrated support for the revised proposal with 65 per cent of comments forms from the local area stating that they were ‘supportive’ or ‘strongly supportive’.
It had to be moved online due to the Covid pandemic with residents able to book appointments to discuss the plans.
Craig Smith, development project manager at RES, commented: “We’ve been delighted with the level of engagement from the community and the positive feedback we’ve received so far.
"It is clear from the consultation we held that people are very aware of the global climate change emergency and the important role that projects like Cairn Duhie can play in helping tackle this issue.”
“New onshore wind is now the cheapest form of new electricity generation.
"It means, if consented, the re-designed Cairn Duhie Wind Farm will produce low carbon renewable energy at least cost to consumers, providing the perfect platform to grow our economy sustainably in the future.”
RES said it has also been exploring ideas and opportunities for local benefits with the community.
A RES spokesperson commented: "The feedback received demonstrated that discounting the annual electricity bills of residents living closest to the proposal was the preferred opportunity.
"RES will also continue to work with the community to investigate other meaningful forms of local benefit which were raised during conversations locally."
If consented, the scheme would be capable of producing renewable energy for around 52,000 homes per annum.
In addition, RES has said the project is expected to deliver approximately £4.4 million of inward investment to the local area in the form of jobs, employment and use of local services and around £21 million in business rates to Highland Council during its operational life.
A formal consultation period will be advertised and held by the Scottish Government to enable the public, as well as statutory consultees, to submit comments on the proposal.
These comments will then be assessed against the proposal and a determination made by the Scottish Government due to the output of the proposed wind farm.
An electronic copy of the full planning application and associated documents can be viewed or downloaded from the project website here
RES is the world’s largest independent renewable energy company active in onshore and offshore wind, solar, energy storage, transmission and distribution.
The planning application and accompanying documents such as the Environmental Statement (ES) and Pre-Application Consultation (PAC) report will be made available to view or download from the Scottish Government’s planning website once formally registered as well as on the Cairn Duhie project website.
