An application to build a 45 megawatt wind farm – which would have been one of the largest in its area – was rejected yesterday by Argyll and Bute Council.
The proposal – by RWE Npower – would have seen 15 turbines each more than 360 feet tall – being built on the private estate near Loch Awe of Sir Jamie McGrigor, a Tory MSP in the Scottish Parliament.
This wind parc could have provided sufficient electricity to power 40% of all homes in Argyll and Bute.
If successful, the development would have netted Sir Jamie £7,000 in ‘base rent’ for each megawatt of installed wind turbine capacity – or up to £350,000 plus extra if the wind farm at Ardchonnel, near Inveraray, performed very well.
The application was rejected on the grounds that it was inconsistent with the local development plan due to ‘adverse visual impact’ on the landscape setting of Loch Awe.
Councillors followed the recommendations of planning officials to reject the application. Proposed developer RWE Npower now has 12 weeks to appeal the verdict.
* RWE npower renewables’ An Suidhe Wind Farm fund, adjacent to the proposed Ardchonnel Wind Farm, is already making a difference to the community in which it operates.
The 19.3 MW scheme will invest over £700,000 into local community activities and projects in Furnace, Inveraray, Eredine and Dalavich throughout the lifetime of the wind farm. The fund supports communities living within a 10km radius of the site. Last year, the index-linked annual payment was worth more than £30,000.
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