Rural Scots are right - it is time to halt onshore windfarms

The Herald Scotland

6 days ago

Of course, the President's antipathy towards wind turbines is well known, which may or may not stem entirely from an offshore windfarm near to his Aberdeenshire golf course.
But does he actually have a point – has Scotland become saturated with wind farms and is it time to pause?
Certainly, many across rural Scotland would agree with the President.
Now an unprecedented movement of 53 community councils are demanding a summit with energy ministers in a fight to pause infrastructure projects in some of Scotland's most picturesque areas.
They claim there is a 'barrage' of major renewable energy proposals with more than 700 live applications in the Highland Council area alone, ranging from wind and hydro projects to energy storage and transmission grid plans.
They add that they are being 'overwhelmed by multiple, complex major applications, from well-funded overseas developers'.
According to the group, it has become 'David and Goliath' experience, with concerns raised that local democracy has been 'overridden'.
The convention now wants the Scottish Government to undertake an inquiry to address the cumulative impact of all major renewable energy infrastructure developments on the communities and landscape fearing projects 'may hasten depopulation in some areas'.
In June, 300 gathered in Beauly, near Inverness, in a public meeting to discuss concerns over feeling 'disregarded' over the wave of projects.
There were delegates from over 50 community councils, collectively representing 72,000 people.
Among the most controversial are plans for a so-called 'super-pylon' plan which was to run for over 100 miles across some of Highlands and Aberdeenshire's most picturesque areas to enable 'significant' growth of renewable energy and support transition away from fossil fuels.
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Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks Transmission (SSEN), which owns, operates and develops the high voltage electricity transmission system unveiled the strategy three years ago which it says was a 'critical project of national significance' as it has been identified as 'essential' to deliver government targets for offshore wind.
The project at that point was to involve building a new 400kV overhead line connection between Beauly and Peterhead to enable the transmission of renewable power into the network for onward transmission to 'areas of demand further south'.
They would transmit the electricity on wires carried on a system of mainly metal towers and large substations.
SSEN was asked how big the pylons would be after a previous plan involving 165ft 'super pylons' was mothballed five years ago in the wake of environmental concerns.
The new pylons at that point were expected to be on average even taller – at 180ft.
Now the convention is now planning a summit for [[Inverness]] and wants Scottish energy secretary Gillian Martin and UK energy minister Michael Shanks as well as deputy first minister Kate Forbes to attend.
Highland councillor Helen Crawford, who was a key convention organiser, said communities felt 'powerless' over the projects.
She said: 'This is a significant representation of thousands of people across the Highlands and it is fair to expect our leaders to advocate for them at [[Scottish Government]] and UK Government level.'
In response, Morag Watson, director of onshore at the industry body Scottish Renewables, said: 'Scotland's renewable energy industry is committed to delivering a lasting legacy for local communities and we will work with all stakeholders to achieve the right outcomes for the country as we build a fairer, cleaner and more secure energy system.'
Of course there is a degree of Nimbyism at play here as many people love the idea of renewable energy schemes until they pop up and spoil the view out of their kitchen window.
However, you just have to look at the UNESCO world heritage site of the Flow Country in Sutherland and Caithness to see the damage that can be done by onshore windfarms.
Many small projects have been approved on the peatlands which will cause incalculable damage to the environment as a whole.
Onshore wind farms are not as environmentally friendly as some will lead us to believe, they are made of plastic after all.
They are also normally sited in peatlands which will release goodness know how many tonnes of carbon dioxide when they are disturbed to drill holds for the cement to keep the turbines in place.
Wind farms have their place in the energy mix and are undoubtedly here to stay – they are also far better than coal and gas fired power stations.
However, with the number of offshore arrays currently operational with many more planned, maybe it is time to pause new onshore ones.
It is arguable now to see how vital they would be for the UK's electricity supply.
Some large wind farms, such as Whitelee in East Renfrewshire, are now hugely popular places for recreation such as walking and cycling, whereas before there was just bleak moorland.
Thousands of local communities have also benefitted hugely from wind farm proceeds, but that shouldn't be used as a sweetener to get locals onside in future.
Wind farms can already provide more than 100% of electricity supply on certain days, so it is hard to argue that we need any more.
Offshore wind will provide even more in the future along with the other more conventional sources such as nuclear and hydro.
There have been great strides made in recent decades away from fossil fuel to renewables and that should be warmly welcomed by everyone.
Sadly, this has come at a cost to some, though the overall benefits far outweigh the downsides.
But maybe it is time to halt onshore wind farms before the downsides outweigh the benefits.