Wednesday, May 18, 2011
West Coast Energy has today submitted a planning application and
environmental statement for a proposed ten turbine wind farm at
Cairnborrow and Norry Hill to planning officials at Aberdeenshire
Council.
Over the past six months the renewable energy company held two
rounds of public consultations as well as a drop-in session
outlining the proposals for the Cairnborrow Wind Farm,
approximately 6km north-west of Huntly. The proposed ten turbine
wind farm also includes a community turbine within the overall
development, in which the local community will benefit from the net
income from the turbine.
West Coast Energy is currently in the process of developing a
partnership with the Huntly Development Trust in order to assist in
developing the community turbine and to work with the communities
involved in the proposed project to ensure the money from the
community turbine is distributed throughout the communities. This
partnership is the first of its kind in Aberdeenshire and builds on
West Coast Energy's previous track record as a community focused
company.
The use of wind power carries with it significant environmental
benefits. Cairnborrow Wind Farm is projected to generate clean
green electricity to meet the annual domestic electricity
consumption equivalent to around 14,300 homes. Every unit (kWh) of
electricity generated by Cairnborrow Wind Farm will offset large
amounts of carbon dioxide that would have otherwise been produced
if that electricity had been generated using fossil fuels like coal
and gas
Samantha Crosby, Senior Planning & Development Manager from
West Coast Energy said, "Following on from a successful
consultation process we are delighted to announce that we have
submitted our planning application for the Cairnborrow Wind Farm to
Aberdeenshire Council. We were pleased with the turnout at the
exhibitions held in both Glass and Huntly recently and with the
feedback we received from the surveys we have undertaken. We look
forward to a continued engagement with the community as the
application progresses through the planning system."
Donald Boyd, Development Manager of Huntly Development Trust,
said: "We are pleased that the application for the proposed
Cairnborrow Wind Farm application has been submitted to
Aberdeenshire Council. We are keen to work with West Coast Energy
on the innovative project. Our next step will be to engage with the
communities around the wind farm, to ensure that the benefit from
the proposed community turbine is distributed fairly and can
achieve maximum impact."
While the application is being considered by Aberdeenshire
Council, West Coast Energy and Huntly Development Trust will
undertake further consultation with the local community to agree
how best to structure this opportunity.
A copy of the planning application, environmental statement and
supporting plans and drawings may be viewed at Aberdeenshire
Council's planning office in Stonehaven or at the libraries in
Huntly, Dufftown, Keith and Aberchirder.
