Anti-windfarm campaigners have accused an energy giant of trying to manipulate the planning process to build more turbines in the Highlands.
SSE Renewables has a 20-turbine windfarm at Fairburn in Ross-shire, but now wants permission for a further 12 turbines just over half a mile away.
Instead of applying to Highland Council for a 12 turbine windfarm, however, SSE has made it part of the already operational 20-turbine development in their application.
This takes it over the 50megawatt (MW) threshold which means it will be automatically be decided by Scottish ministers, rather than local councillors on Highland Council – who have recently been challenging a number of windfarm applications.
SSE said it has no choice in the matter and is following the correct legal process – and said those suggesting otherwise were “ill-informed or deliberately misleading”.
But long-term turbine opponent Lyndsey Ward, of Beauly said she and other campaigners believe that, as the proposed extension is not directly beside the existing development, it should be determined as a separate application by the council.
She has accused the renewable energy firm of lumping the new application in with the existing windfarm in order to bypass the council and growing local opposition to large-scale wind energy developments.
She said: “SSE is scornfully bypassing local opinion and democracy by submitting this application in the way they have.
“This action, by SSE, could set a dangerous precedent for other wind farms and their extensions. Everyone living in the shadow of an approved windfarm should take heed and object to this unfair, undemocratic process. It’s a 36MW development and it should be done through Highland Council.
Ms Ward claimed the firm thinks it have get a “better chance” of being backed by Scottish ministers than Highland councillors.
“There is a lot of local opposition to this windfarm industrialisation in this area and perhaps they thought they were going to get a tough time of it, but they are going to get that anyway,” she said.
“This is not just a local issue. I’ve been contact from people across Scotland who are concerned if these developers are allowed to do this it will open they way for others to follow suit.”
Reacting to the accusation by SSE that she was being misleading, she said: “I don’t think I’ve been deliberately misleading, I’ve been trying to find out how the process arose. As far as I understand SSE had a choice in the matter, according to Highland Council.”
Ross, Sutherland and Caithness SNP MSP Rob Gibson said: “This is undergoing due process in planning and ministers will decide whether they should give it the go-ahead in due course. It’s got to take its chances like any other windfarm application.”
He said anti-windfarm campaigners would “never be satisfied” with any turbine development being approved.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “The determination process for windfarms and all energy development applications is robust, transparent and wholly inclusive, taking all representations into account following consultation. Developments are only permitted to go ahead in the right places.”
A Highland Council spokeswoman said: “We are aware that SSE put in this application to the Scottish Government. They have consulted us and we will be getting back to the Scottish Government in due course.”
SSE’s head of corporate affairs Justyn Smith said last night: “SSE has clearly followed the correct process for a windfarm extension and suggestions to the contrary are either ill-informed or deliberately misleading. Planning applications for power stations,including windfarms, follow Section 36of the ElectricityAct (1989) if their capacity is 50MW or over.
“This legislation clearly states thatfor an extensionto an existing generating station it is the total capacity including the existing site which is used to determine the correct planning process for the extension proposal.
“The combined generating capacity of Fairburn windfarm and Fairburn Extension windfarm will be approximately 76MW, so it is entirely correct that the Fairburn Extension follows the Section 36 planning process.”
He added: “The Scottish Government and the Highland Council have been fully consulted throughout the project’s development and have raised no concerns about the planning process being followed.”
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