Revised plans put forward by a Swedish energy company for a windfarm near Huntly have sparked a renewed protest.
An application for an 18-turbine scheme at Clashindarroch Forest, between Huntly and Rhynie, has just been submitted to Aberdeenshire Council — weeks after energy firm Vattenfall held a “very successful” public consultation exhibition.
Yesterday, a spokeswoman for the Friends of Clash said a meeting of the group had been held within a day of the proposals being lodged to develop plans for opposition to the scheme.
The spokeswoman said: “Following a long and costly public inquiry in 2007, the Scottish Government accepted the reporter’s recommendation and refused planning permission for a windfarm at Clashindarroch.
“We are therefore shocked and dismayed that a further application for the same site is to be considered.”
She said the group was concerned that approval of the new scheme, involving an output of around 40 megawatts, would inevitably lead to a further increase in turbine numbers, given that the previous developer had said output of less than 64MW would not be economically viable
“Any proposal for more than 50MW output would need approval of the Scottish Government,” said the Friends of Clash spokeswoman. “This proposal could be approved by Aberdeenshire Council alone, and would seem to be a way of circumventing the government’s previous decision.
“Clashindarroch is a site with extensive views of the surrounding unspoilt countryside, including Cairngorms National Park, so huge turbines in this tourist area would have a massive impact.”
The group is worried that development work will cause noise and adversely affect wildlife habitat. The forest is home to rare creatures such as the pine marten and red squirrel as well as endangered raptors and animals, including wildcats. The burns are used by spawning salmon.
Friends of Clash believe windfarm developments should be offshore, because advances in technology mean much larger turbines could produce much more power.
They maintain that Clashindarroch Forest is an unsuitable location for such a project.
The previous 22-turbine Clashindarroch windfarm scheme was launched by international engineering and project management group Amec , which sold its Amec Wind Energy division to Vattenfall last year.
The Swedish firm said the 2007 inquiry findings and Aberdeenshire Council advice had been taken into account in developing its new plans, which could produce enough electricity to meet the needs of 27,670 homes and make a significant contribution to Scotland’s clean-energy targets.