It is of no surprise that yet another turbine at Whitelee Windfarm has been destroyed by fire (The Herald, 21 September), following similar incidents recorded in 2017 and 2025. Given that fire is the second most common cause of accidents at operational wind farms, it is fortunate that no-one was hurt on this occasion. This was probably only because this latest fire occurred at night during torrential rain, so no one was on the adjacent core path. Had this happened in the Summer during tinder dry conditions when wildfires raged across Scotland, the consequences could have been much worse. Furthermore, looking at the oil dripping down the turbine tower in your published photograph, it is a relief that this particular turbine was not one of the 28 turbines sited directly on Scottish Water’s public water catchment areas within Whitelee.
We also escaped a far worse tragedy because the consented but not yet built “green” hydrogen facility, with its predicted one-kilometre blast zone, is sited further north in Whitelee.
This narrow escape must serve as a stark wake-up call to planners currently evaluating the application for the Cromarty “green” hydrogen facility, also dependent on adjacent wind turbines.
Aileen Jackson
Scotland Against Spin
Uplawmoor
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