Plans have been unveiled for a five turbine wind farm at Navidale, north of
Helmsdale.
The proposed Navidale Wind Farm would be located on an area of moorland on
Creag Thoraraidh.
Green Cat Renewables has submitted a scoping report to Highland Council
which starts the process of gauging responses to the initial design from
various statutory consultees including Scottish Natural Heritage.
Phil Davidson, who owns Navidale Farm, explained that they were at an early
stage in the process, but were keen to hear the views of the community, as
well as the various consultees, before taking the project to the next stage.
He said: “Although it is not normally a part of the process for a project
of this limited scale, we plan to hold a public exhibition where people can
come along and find out more about the project and what opportunities exist
for involving the community.”
The proposed development will consist of five wind turbines measuring up to
125m to blade tip.
Mr Davidson moved to the area with his wife Alex, who died recently after a
short illness. He said: “Both Alex and I were passionate about renewable
energy and we spent three years looking for a potential site.
“The wind speeds here are amongst the highest in Europe so it’s a great
place to generate clean, green energy.”
The Davidsons initially bought Navidale with the intention to develop a
wildlife park and deer farm, as well as a small wind farm.
Since buying the farm they have undertaken an extensive restoration of the
house and also renovated a cottage. As Phil explained: “We have been very
lucky to find some fantastic local craftsmen to help us with the work on
the house and cottage and it’s made us appreciate how challenging this area
can be to find work.”
“Government changes to support for on-shore wind farms make it much more
difficult to offer the kind of community financial packages that had become
the norm, but we are keen to explore options which would offer significant
benefits for the community.”
A number of technical assessments are now being undertaken to assess the
suitability of the site for the wind farm. Independent specialists have
been commissioned to look at landscape and visual impact, noise and
hydrology, as well as cultural heritage and archaeology. They will also
investigate the presence on site of any protected species, including birds.
This information will be used in the planning application to Highland
Council which the company hope to submit in the autumn.
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