We’re going to see a lot more of this down the line.
I’m vice-chair of the south planning applications committee on Highland Council and when they apply for a windfarm it’s usually for a limited life, and there’s planning conditions about restoring the land to its original state at the end but it’s pretty obvious that the direction of travel is to keep upgrading them. That’s why ScottishPower is pressing to streamline the planning process for existing windfarms.
But there are issues with upgrades, not least height. Over 150m they need a red light on the top of the tower, which makes them far more visually intrusive at night, so currently we’re seeing a lot of applications for 149.5m turbines.
Welcome aboard then Paul! I wonder if lights could be shielded from ground viewers to allow them to be bigger. Sitting up in Caithness myself now, the nimbyism is exhausting
Not really. The big planning issue is how well hidden they are from (relatively) distant viewers and they’re going to be viewing them pretty much horizontally … just like low flying aircraft.
In the daytime they’re often less obvious than at night (if they have to have a light). As a result it’s not unusual for applications to be scaled back a bit to get below 150m.
But yeah, it’s a funny business. Some people hate them but some communities welcome them, as they get quite a lot of money off them (Culloden for example has well over £100,000 burning a hole in their pockets at the moment and the payments keep coming).
We’re going to see a lot more of this down the line.
I’m vice-chair of the south planning applications committee on Highland Council and when they apply for a windfarm it’s usually for a limited life, and there’s planning conditions about restoring the land to its original state at the end but it’s pretty obvious that the direction of travel is to keep upgrading them. That’s why ScottishPower is pressing to streamline the planning process for existing windfarms.
But there are issues with upgrades, not least height. Over 150m they need a red light on the top of the tower, which makes them far more visually intrusive at night, so currently we’re seeing a lot of applications for 149.5m turbines.
Welcome aboard then Paul! I wonder if lights could be shielded from ground viewers to allow them to be bigger. Sitting up in Caithness myself now, the nimbyism is exhausting
Not really. The big planning issue is how well hidden they are from (relatively) distant viewers and they’re going to be viewing them pretty much horizontally … just like low flying aircraft.
In the daytime they’re often less obvious than at night (if they have to have a light). As a result it’s not unusual for applications to be scaled back a bit to get below 150m.
But yeah, it’s a funny business. Some people hate them but some communities welcome them, as they get quite a lot of money off them (Culloden for example has well over £100,000 burning a hole in their pockets at the moment and the payments keep coming).