Campaigners in plea to ‘stop the destruction of Caithness’
Campaigners have sent out a plea to “stop the speculator-led destruction of what remains of Caithness” as a result of renewable energy schemes.
They point to the legacy of previous developments that proved to be environmentally damaging, notably afforestation in peatlands areas, and say it is time to “learn the lessons of the past”.
The message has come from members of the No to Swarclett campaign who are opposing plans by Wind2 to build two turbines, each with a blade-tip height of up to 149.9m, along with a battery energy storage system, on agricultural land about a kilometre south-east of Mains of Durran.
Jan Lawler, Daniel Hopwood and Tony Shaw say they are concerned about a number of other developments and how they could affect the wider landscape of Caithness, saying the county is in danger of being “trashed by turbines”.
No to Swarclett has produced a visualisation illustrating the impact from Olrig Hill if Swarclett and other projects go ahead.
Ms Lawler said: “For Watten residents, the journey to and from Wick is now blighted by the numerous turbines of the Bilbster/Wathegar/Camster complex. It’s just as bad at night with all the red flashing lights.
“If the Ouglassy [Spittal Hill] application proceeds it will be just as bad if they choose to head into Thurso. Giant 180-metre turbines, almost road adjacent, will have many feeling that whichever way they turn they just can’t escape the turbines.”
Mr Hopwood pointed out that “it could get even worse” with other schemes proposed for the Watten area. “Watten is under threat of being totally surrounded,” he said.
“The ill-conceived onshore wind policy of Highland Council, along with the even grander schemes of the Scottish and UK governments, will surely end in tears for many, including investors.
“The continuing increase in size of offshore turbines makes onshore landscape destruction seem so unnecessary. The arrival of the mini-nuclear industry should be seen as an opportunity rather than something to be banned from consideration.”
Mr Hopwood added: “In the case of applications like Swarclett Wind Farm it is simply speculator-led and has no significant contribution to make to net-zero.
“At a time when increasingly massive offshore turbines are likely to become the norm, why should we be prepared to further destroy our Caithness landscape and land so much grief on our rural residents?
“It’s time to learn the lessons of the past and stop the speculator-led destruction of what remains of Caithness.”
Mr Shaw, who launched the Save Caithness campaign last summer to help communities fight large-scale energy developments, identified a connection between “trains, trees and turbines”.
He said: “We’ve been here before. First it was trains in the 19th century, then trees in the 20th century, and now it’s turbines.
“The common thread? They were all ‘developer-led’ with a free market more or less declared for those with a nose for making money.
“Both went horribly wrong – at least twice as many railway lines were produced and in a short time many firms went out of business with huge investor losses.
“Caithness is well familiar with the trees story. Under the protection of financial incentives, large-scale conifer afforestation resulted in the loss and fragmentation of natural habitats.
“A poor habitat was created for many native species of plants, insects, birds and mammals. The intensive ploughing, draining and fertiliser use associated with the planting methods disrupted and degraded soils and impacted water quality in streams and rivers.”
Ms Lawler said: “The lessons from the past are obvious but there seems to be a determination to repeat the mistakes.
“Caithness appears to be particularly badly treated. It already exports far more energy than it consumes and has a landscape that has been severely compromised in many areas.
“Rural residents in particular appear to be seen as a disposable commodity with little or no protection of their interests in the current Highland Council assessment criteria for wind development.”
Opponents in the Bowertower area are concerned that 10 properties will be within 1500 metres of Swarclett Wind Farm and four properties will be even closer, at around 850m.
Wind2 project manager Hannah Brown, who is based on the Black Isle, said: “Wind2 is committed to playing its part in achieving the UK’s net-zero targets and strengthening our energy security.
“Projects like the proposed Swarclett Wind Farm contribute to a diversified energy mix, reducing reliance on volatile global fossil fuel markets and ultimately helping to stabilise consumer energy bills in the long term.”
Wind2 says Swarclett will have the capacity to generate approximately 66,000 MWh of electricity annually while offsetting some 6000 tonnes of CO2 a year.
