The go-ahead for a massive offshore windfarm could turn the far north into the Saudi Arabia of renewable energy, it was claimed yesterday.
Highland Council’s north planning committee agreed unanimously to raise no objection to 277 wind turbines being installed on the Moray Firth seabed, eight miles off Caithness between Wick and Dunbeath.
And the promised economic boost from the vast North Sea project led one councillor to liken the Highlands’ energy prospects to the Middle East state that has amassed huge wealth from being the world’s biggest oil producer.
Councillors were told that the giant windfarm, covering 50 square miles, would produce enough electricity to power more than 750,000 homes – more than treble that of the Highlands’ 220,000 population.
Councillor Willie Mackay, Landward Caithness, told the Inverness meeting that he predicted a huge jobs and wealth boost as it was announced the construction alone would inject £25million into the Highland economy – and £313million for the Scottish economy.
“I am very excited about this,” he said. There are substantial opportunities for employment and wealth with developments like this.
“Saudi Arabia are world leaders in oil production and when you think of that country you think of wealth and the benefits that can come with substantial employment. We have a huge untapped resource here and we could be world-leaders in offshore energy.”
Councillor Alex MacLeod, Landward Caithness, said: “The importance of getting this right cannot be overstated. This project will put the far north on the map as the place to invest in wind energy.”
The application, by Beatrice Offshore Windfarm Limited (Bowl), will now be decided by the Scottish Government.
The development, if approved, would sit next to the Moray Offshore Renewables Limited (Morl) project, which would construct up to 339 turbines across three offshore windfarms.
Councillors gave their backing to the Morl project, billed as the world’s largest offshore windfarm, in March. Construction on the Bowl development, a joint venture between SSE Renewables and Repsol Nuevas Energias UK, could start in 2015, with the first electricity brought to shore in 2018.
Richard Escott, head of offshore development for SSE Renewables, said: “The project represents a substantial investment in the region and will bring significant benefits to the local economy. As we await final determination of the offshore element of the project, we will continue our open, ongoing engagement with the local community to ensure they are kept informed at every stage.”
Anti-windfarm campaigner Stuart Young, of the Caithness Windfarm Information Forum, said he was “disappointed but not surprised” that the proposal, which raised 38 public objections, was passed. He said: “Up until last year the visible development in Caithness was tolerable. But this is the year that we find out that turbines affect tourism. People coming here this year will think twice about coming again.
“It is far too late as far as Caithness is concerned, the county is trashed.”
Meanwhile, applications for a 22-turbine windfarm at Sallachy in Sutherland and a single turbine near Prince Charles’s summer residence Mey were also approved by the north planning committee yesterday
