The John Muir Trust has expressed its “deep dismay” at the decision by the Scottish Government to approve the 29-turbine Cloiche Wind Farm on “fragile” peatland in the heart of the Monadhliath Mountains.
Cloiche Wind Farm is located on the Glendoe and Garrogie Estates, adjacent to the operational Stronelairg Wind Farm and Glendoe Hydroelectric Scheme, approximately 11 kilometres (km) to the south-east of Fort Augustus.
The 29 turbine Cloiche Wind Farm would have an installed generation capacity of up to 125MW, enough renewable energy to typically power over 150,000 UK homes annually and offset over 190,000 tonnes of carbon per annum, contributing to the UK and Scotland’s 2030 renewable energy targets.
SSE Renewables welcomed the decision by Scottish Ministers to grant Section 36 planning consent for Cloiche onshore wind farm.
Heather Donald, director of onshore development and construction said: “Onshore wind projects like Cloiche are critical to delivering the net zero transition, and have an essential role to play in decarbonising the UK’s energy supply.
“We have worked closely with the local community, listening carefully to people’s views, to ensure that we are considering local needs and priorities wherever possible.
“Cloiche Wind Farm is also expected to deliver an economic dividend to the Highlands, in the same way that other significant renewables projects in the Great Glen have brought hundreds of millions of pounds in socio-economic benefit to the region.”
However the John Muir Trust, a Scottish charity established to conserve wild land and wild places for the benefit of all, expressed its disappointment.
“The new development is effectively an extension to the existing Stronelairg wind farm, which in 2013 was scaled down from 88 turbines to 67 to accommodate planning objections by Highland Council. This in turn allowed the developer, SSE, to avoid the scrutiny of a Public Local Inquiry,” the trust said.
“Ten years later, the energy giant has now been given the go ahead to expand their existing wind farm to 98 turbines spread over a vast area one and a half times the size of Inverness. By the time the extension is completed, SSE will have excavated over 800,000 cubic metres of rock from an area of peatland to build tracks and turbine bases.”
Mike Daniels, head of policy of the John Muir Trust said: “We are disappointed at this decision, which is inconsistent with a ruling by Scottish Ministers last year to reject an application for Glenshero wind farm adjacent to Cloiche and Stronelairg.
“We are further dismayed that our planning system allows developers to scale down an application to gain approval, then return at a later date to successfully reinstate their rejected application.”
“Most importantly, we are concerned that there is an underlying conflict between the Scottish Government’s ambition for large-scale peatland restoration to store carbon in perpetuity, and the short-term drive by energy companies and private landowners to maximise profits by constructing badly sited onshore wind farms.
“The Scottish Government is currently seeking tenders to update its wind farm carbon calculator, which peatland experts have described as deeply flawed. The John Muir Trust is urging ministers to accelerate progress in this area.
“Our understanding of the vital role of peatland restoration as a natural solution to the climate crisis is greater now than ever before, while the science and technology of assessing emissions has raced forward in recent years.
“Before we cover more of our wild places and peatlands with turbines, tracks, transmission line and other infrastructure, we need to make sure that every application for built development on peatland is rigorously assessed to measure the extent of drainage and the potential for restoration.
“We support the Scottish Government targets for onshore and offshore wind, but we are deeply concerned that large-scale wind farms are being constructed in the wrong places, where land is cheaper to lease and profit margins are higher.”
SSE Renewables will now focus on progressing the project through the final stages of development in preparation for a potential construction start in 2026. Final delivery of the wind farm will be subject to the project securing a route to market, and a final investment decision.