Following local consultation, developer RES has cut the number of proposed turbines on the Culachy Wind Farm site near Fort Augustus ahead of a site-visit today (11 Dec 2015) by Highland Cooncillors.**
And today Inverness Chamber of Commerce voices its support in favour of the application to build a new wind farm near the site of a historic military road at Corrieyairack Pass.
Stewart Nicol, Chief Executive, Inverness Chamber of Commerce, said: “Culachy wind farm will bring a number of economic benefits to the Highlands and RES has a good track record of working with local companies based in the Highlands.
“RES is to be commended for continuing to provide an annual summer placement for Highland students over the last four years and the consent of the proposed Culachy Wind Farm could see the continuance of this positive scheme.
“Culachy Wind Farm will result in an inward investment in the Highlands in excess of £3.6 million during construction and first year of operation which is good news for local businesses and the wider supply chain, which is to be welcomed.”
RES – which employs more than 100 people in Scotland – has developed and/or already operates three other wind farms in the Highlands and its Culachy proposal is recommended for approval by cooncil planners.
Lisa Miller, RES Development Manager, added: “We have worked closely with the local community to sensitively design Culachy Wind Farm.
“Through the course of the consultation process we comprehensively redesigned and scaled back the project – reducing the number of turbines from 25 to 13.
“The changes made to the number, height and locations of the proposed turbines on the Culachy Estate have resulted in no visibility from key areas of interest in Fort Augustus. Culachy Wind Farm is located on a working estate and in an area identified by Highland Council as suitable for wind farms.
“The landscape around this small section of General Wade’s Military Road has been altered already through the Beauly-Denny power line and RES has carefully considered the positions of the turbines to balance the protection of this historical feature with the requirement for renewable energy.
“It is important to note that Historic Scotland have made no objection to the proposal. In addition, we are considering how Culachy Wind Farm can increase the profile of the Corrieyairack Pass by making it more accessible.”
See also:
Scottish Mountaineers call on Highland cooncil to reject wind farm bid at historic Corrieyairack Pass
http://www.scottishenergynews.com/scottish-mountaineers-call-on-highland-cooncil-to-reject-wind-farm-bid-at-historic-corrieyairack-pass/
** ‘Cooncil’ is the Scots language word for ‘council’ and is not pejorative:
Dictionar o’ the Scots Leid / Dictionary of the Scots Language – http://goo.gl/7xo5Bk
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