Who decides on limit?
Argyll has been the target for wind farm developers for more than 20 years now – but still the applications come flooding in.
Argyll and Bute Council’s wind energy capacity study in 2017 found that:
“There is no scope for wind turbines >150m to be accommodated in Argyll and Bute. This is principally due to the effect of much larger wind turbines on surrounding smaller scale and/or diverse landscapes.
“There is very limited remaining scope for additional large wind turbines (80-130m high) to be accommodated in the uplands of Kintyre and either side of Loch Awe. Any development would need to be set well back from the outer edges of these uplands to minimise effects on surrounding more sensitive landscapes.”
However, those above a certain capacity are decided upon by the Scottish Government, which has a carbon reduction policy calling for net zero by 2045, suggesting it will be biased towards wind farm developments.
The latest proposal at Brenfield, between Ardrishaig and Inverneill – the third attempt and largest – will be decided upon by the Scottish Government, if it gets that far, and not Argyll and Bute Council.
Perhaps the residents of these communities are right to be worried.