Allowing a 24-turbine windfarm to be created on the edge of Rannoch Moor would “fatally undermine” the wild land map, according to a conservation charity.
The John Muir Trust has thrown its weight behind the campaign to stop the proposed development on the Talladh-a-Bheithe estate between Loch Rannoch and Loch Ericht.
The trust is submitting a detailed objection to the windfarm, which would be in the heart the Wild Land Area Rannoch-Nevis-Mamores-Alder, to both Perth and Kinross Council and the Scottish Government’s Energy Consents and Deployment Unit.
And it is urging residents and visitors to the picturesque area to submit their own objections.
The trust points out the turbines, each measuring more than 400ft, would be visible from more than 30 Munros and Corbetts, the West Highland Railway line and the A82 – the main tourist route through the West Highlands.
Its policy officer, John Low, said: “Just last month, the Scottish Government agreed a Wild Land Areas map, along with new planning documents proposing stronger protection for these areas from large-scale energy developments.
“This followed two separate public consultations, both of which backed the Wild Land Areas map by a majority of more than three to one.
“If this application were to succeed, it would fatally undermine the map and make a mockery of the democratic procedures of the Scottish Parliament.
“We would ask local residents and visitors familiar with the area to submit their own objections to the Scottish Government’s Energy Consents Unit and copy it to Perth and Kinross Council before the closing date of Tuesday August 5.”
The application has been submitted by Netherlands-based developer, Eventus BV, of which the Talladh-a-Bheithe landowner is a major shareholder.
A community group, called Keep Rannoch Wild, has been set up to fight the plans, which are also opposed by the Mountaineering Council of Scotland.
A spokesman for developer Talladh-a-Bheithe Wind Farm Limited said they had worked closely with the local community and pointed out that the scheme would make a valuable contribution towards Scottish and UK government targets for energy from renewable sources.