OUNCILLORS have cautiously welcomed plans for the building of up to seven new wind turbines near Oban.
Beaufort Wind Ltd has submitted a pre-application notice to Argyll and Bute Council regarding the proposed construction at Beinn Ghlas wind farm at Taynuilt.
The proposed development would also decommission and restore the existing wind farm, making use of some of the site’s existing infrastructure.
As the proposal is currently a pre-application notice (PAN), councillors were unable to decide whether to grant planning permission, instead only considering the contents of a report.
The document went before the council’s planning, protective services and licensing committee at its meeting on Wednesday, May 21.
A council officer wrote in the report: “Based on the description of the development contained within the proposal of application notice, the forthcoming application is anticipated to comprise of up to seven wind turbines (up to 149.9 metres to tip) and associated infrastructure.
“The proposed development will also include works to decommission and restore the existing operational Beinn Ghlas Wind Farm making use of some of the existing infrastructure on the site.
“The project website states that the proposed turbines will generate up to 33.6 MW of power, in comparison to the current installed capacity of 8.4 MW for the existing wind farm. The PAN submission is accompanied by a site location plan.”
Councillor Kieron Green (Independent, Oban North and Lorn), chair of the committee, said: “I know technology has moved on significantly since the initial development on this site. It is perhaps unsurprising the scale of the turbines is significantly greater.
“I think it would be right of us to welcome this fact. The developer seems to be flexible in terms of 149m to tip when a pot of proposed windfarms are going a lot higher.
“When details emerge of the sitings of the turbines, a greater assessment can be made and hopefully there will be a constructive dialogue with the developer to ensure the impact can be minimised.”
Councillor Amanda Hampsey (Conservative, Oban South and the Isles) said: “Thank you to officers for looking at this and listening to communities when they wished to be consulted. They have to be recognised for acting in such a fashion.”
