Rejection of 200m turbine bid near Loch Ness hailed by campaigners – Herald

BORDERS communities fighting against the expansion of wind farms have hailed a decision by ministers to reject a plan for a sensitive Highland glen near Loch Ness.With objections from the John Muir Trust, the RSPB and Mountaineering Scotland, as well as two community councils, ministers admitted that the plan for eight 200-metre turbines and a battery storage system at Culachy would have “significant detrimental impacts on landscape and visual amenity, as well as adverse impacts on a special quality of the Loch Ness and Duntelchaig Special Landscape Areas”.Ministers accepted there would be net economic and renewable energy benefits.However, they determined that, if the development went ahead, “it would result in a failure to preserve natural beauty, which is one of the factors that Scottish ministers must take account of when making a determination”.Mike Wilcox, from Walkerburn Community Council in the Tweed Valley, found the intervention “heartening” – and hopes it creates a precedent.   https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/26000069.rejection-200m-turbine-bid-near-loch-ness-hailed-campaigners/?fbclid=IwY2xjawRC4fZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEekpmNhbYld1RkdlzOjDnPNKuRblnwzhVdp5VjQl-MhtyluAfrP51jGj1X3yc_aem_efu38Ft2p_sDCNYS_5pDzQ