By Graham Brown
Angus Council has stepped back from a formal objection to changes for a £2
billion offshore wind farm which will see turbines rise to almost 300
metres off the county’s coast.
The Inch Cape Offshore Limited (ICOL) scheme is one of three multi-billion
pound turbine arrays proposed for the outer Firths of the Tay and Forth in
a zone stretching from around ten miles into the North Sea.
Alterations to the previously consented scheme will see the number of
turbines drop from 110 to 72, but their hub height will rise from 129
metres to more than 160 metres above LAT (lowest astronomical tide), with
maximum turbine heights rising from 172m to 250m, or 820 feet.
The local authority has said concerns remain over the array’s “significant
impacts” on the historic Bell Rock lighthouse, 11 miles off the coast of
Arbroath, as well as the cumulative effect of the Neart Na Gaoithe and
Seagreen windfarms also in the pipeline.
In a fresh consultee response over the Inch Cape changes, council planning
leader Kate Cowey has called for a “co-ordinated approach” which would
avoid larger turbines being stacked in the foreground of the view visible
from Angus.
It states: “Whilst the development proposes to reduce the overall number of
turbines the respective increase in tip height and rotor diameter will
invariably make the individual turbines more visible.
“The night time viewpoints confirm that the lighting would be viewed in
close association and at a greater height to the light on the Bell Rock
lighthouse.
“Further consideration requires to be given to this matter in order to
ensure an appropriate technical solution is identified and if this is the
case the associated effects would be unlikely to be unacceptable.”
The response adds: “We would stress that a key cumulative consideration is
the relative height and design of the three different off-shore wind farm
developments.
“A level of consistency is important to prevent the collective view
becoming visually inconsistent or distorting seascape perspective by having
turbines of noticeably different sizes within the same view.
“The proposal for Inch Cape potentially proposes the use of 291m high
turbines. This scale of turbine would be greater in height than the
potential 208m high turbines proposed by Neart Na Gaoithe.
“This would lead to a situation whereby larger turbines are located in the
foreground with smaller turbines in the background.
“Although this proposal is not unacceptable in its own right, in order to
avoid a confusing and poorly harmonised visual image a co-ordinated
approach to the finalised height of each development should be considered.”
The Inch Cape development recently took a significant step forward when
ICOL said it had entered into agreement with three companies to deliver the
export cable infrastructure needed to connect the array to the power grid.
Up to 1,900 full-time equivalent jobs are expected to be created during the
three-year construction period, providing a projected £240 million per
annum boost to the economy.
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