Protestors in Scotland against erection of over 100 windfarms

Protestors against proposals to erect over 100 wind turbines in Perthshire between Aberfeldy and Crieff will be stepping up their protests after learning that GreenPower has officially lodged with the Scottish Executive a full application for Griffin Wind Farm.
This application is for up to 82 wind turbines in Griffin Forest, to the east of Glen Cochil, south-east of Aberfeldy. Each turbine would have a hub height of 80m and the rotors would have a diameter of up to 88m, producing en masse an electrical output of up to 216 megawatts. It is anticipated that, for construction purposes, the project would be entered from the A826 Aberfeldy-Amulree road, using existing forestry access routes. The Griffin plan is the third major wind farm proposal for the area, and by far the largest.

Already lodged with the Scottish Executive are proposals for 46 turbines at Calliacher, near Amulree, and 24 for Abercairney north of Crieff. Before ruling on the application, the Scottish Executive will embark upon a month-long consultation period, starting on June 8 and concluding on July 6. This period will include three public exhibitions: Birnam Institute on Tuesday, June 15; Amulree Community Hall on Wednesday, June 23; and Aberfeldy Town Hall on Thursday, June 24. Opening times for all the exhibitions will be 11am until 8pm. GreenPower have also prepared an environmental statement which will be available for viewing from Tuesday, May 25, until July 26 at Perth and Kinross Council's planning department in Pullar House, Perth; the council's local office at 26 Atholl Road, Pitlochry; and in Pitlochry, Aberfeldy and Birnam Libraries. Councillor Alistair Barr JP, the Perth and Kinross ward councillor for the area covering both the proposed Griffin and Calliacher developments, called for the Scottish Executive to urgently re-think its windfarm strategy.

"As you can imagine, along with my constituents in Amulree and Strathbraan, I am extremely concerned about this application which comes hot on the heels of the Calliachar proposal," said Councillor Barr. "If both application are approved by Scottish ministers it would see well over 100 massive wind turbines being constructed in one of the most beautiful parts of Scotland. There is a large protest movement against on-shore wind farms with a strong feeling that, with a little bit of time and thought, the turbines could as easily be sited off-shore to fulfil Scotland's renewable energy target. "No one I have spoken to objects to the principle of renewable energy but what people do object to is the undue haste with which the Scottish Executive are pushing on-shore windfarms without a chance to think about the massive ramifications for rural Scotland. "I would plead with the Scottish Executive to re-think their strategy as a matter of urgency."