Campaigners hail decision to reject Skye wind farm plans

Highland councillors voted against the proposed Balmeanach Wind Farm, in the north-west of the island near Edinbane, which would have seen turbines with a maximum height of 150m (492ft) erected.

Although officials at the local authority had recommended the approval of the application, more than 180 objections were made against the proposal, including from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) over fears it would impact birds of prey in the area, like the white tailed eagle.

Councillors voted eight to five against the proposed Balmeanach Wind Farm, with the developer Wind2 saying it was disappointed by the decision.

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However, local campaign organisation The Skye Wind Farm Information Group has hailed the council’s decision to refuse the plans, claiming the proposal would have resulted in a continuous jumbled cluster of 47 turbines of different heights stretching above Loch Greshornish.

The group argued that the Balmeanach site would have “visually joined” the existing Edinbane with the already consented Ben Sca Wind Farm and the existing Ben Aketil Wind Farm.

A spokesperson for the group said: “Members were worried about considerable delays and traffic disruption during construction.  

“They also questioned the capability of Skye’s roads to cope with hundreds of extra HGV journeys and Abnormal Load Convoys carrying turbine blades up to 66m long, particularly along the relatively narrow and winding A850 from Borve to the proposed site entrance above Edinbane.”

The group also argued the proposal would have had a “significant visual impact” for residents at Upper Edinbane, Roag and Greshornish.

Campaigners were also concerned about the amount of peat, which is a valuable natural resource capable of storing carbon, that would have been excavated to build the turbine bases, access tracks and four massive borrow pits or quarries to provide aggregate for the project.

They also argued that there was no guarantee of any permanent jobs on Skye if the Balmeanach wind farm was built, adding the profits from the electricity generated would only have benefitted “a handful of people” on the island, whilst most of it would have ended up in the “pockets of the overseas-based owners”.

A spokesperson added: “Most encouraging was the Councillors’ recognition during the debate that more wind farms on Skye are not needed. 

“The island already produces ten times the electricity it consumes from the two existing wind farms and Scotland already has more wind farms built or consented than it will need to meet expected energy consumption in 2050.”

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Members of the group said they were also concerned about the high predicted collision rates for White Tailed Eagles after it was reported that the turbines at Balmeanach would be likely to result in the deaths of 37 birds during the 40-year lifespan of the wind farm.

The spokesperson added: “Common sense prevailed in Inverness on Wednesday.

“SWIG would now urge Councillors to make similar decisions on the other wind farms proposed here. In the future they should only support smaller scale community owned wind farms. 

“These would see all the profits returned to Skye with real long term jobs based on the island. They would have far less impact on our economy, our iconic landscape and the wildlife that inhabits it.”

A spokesperson for Wind2 said: "We are very disappointed by the decision of the planning committee today, especially considering the work that has been done to mitigate the potential impacts of the project and the recommendation for approval issued by the planner.

"We will further review the planning committee's response to the application before preparing an appeal."

Wind2 was approached for comment.