By Jane Candlish
Anti-windfarm campaigners are furious that an electricity giant has started
consultations on a powerline for a windfarm that does not yet have planning
permission.
A decision on the Allt Duine windfarm has been awaited from the Scottish
Government for some time and is not expected until after the General Election.
Opponents have questioned whether the decision has been leaked to Scottish
and Southern Electric Power Distribution (SSEPD) ahead of a public
announcement.
The company’s eight-week consultation on a proposed route for the power
line ends on May 15.
But members of the Save the Monadhliath Mountains (SMM) group believe that
the process is premature given that consent has not been granted.
And they claim that if the windfarm is refused, the consultation will have
been a waste of money.
Yesterday the energy firm denied that they knew details of the Scottish
Government’s decision and said that their connection proposals were in the
early stages of development.
The Allt Duine windfarm proposals, being pursued by RWE Innogy, involve 31
turbines on the Alvie, Dalraddy and Dunachton estates. The site is close to
the Cairngorms National Park boundary.
Opponents to the plans included Highland Council, the Cairngorms National
Park Authority and the John Muir Trust and a public inquiry was held in 2012.
The SMM group has now sent a “strongly worded letter” to energy regulator
Ofgem expressing its “deep concern” about the public consultation.
Group spokesman John Stevenson said: “After an exhaustive and expensive
public inquiry, the SMM campaign believes the eight-week consultation,
including public exhibitions, is either premature, a complete waste of
public resources and people’s time or an indication that Scottish and
Southern Electric Power Distribution (SSEPD) know the minister’s decision
in advance of it being published.
“In spite of the universal opposition to the scheme – the Allt Duine
windfarm application is opposed by all four statutory consultees and the
local community council – the consultation on the proposed transmission to
the site has commenced. This raises questions regarding the probity of the
decision-making process.
“With that in mind, the SMM campaign urgently requests that Ofgem seek
confirmation in writing that no communication has taken place between the
Scottish Government’s Energy Consents and Deployment Unit about either the
timetable or the likely outcome of the determination.”
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