Limekiln wind turbine deliveries to continue next week
Deliveries of turbine components for the Limekiln wind farm are under way and are set to continue on two days next week.
Two convoys are carrying turbine components from Scrabster harbour along the A836 to the site just south of Reay.
The developer, Boralex, has said the journeys will take place on two days each week at “off-peak” times during the day. Each delivery run should take about an hour to complete.
The first one went ahead on May 22.
Each convoy consists of three vehicles and all abnormal loads are being taken under police escort.
Opponents of the Limekiln scheme have warned that the wind farm will dominate the skyline for miles around, and that Reay residents will find themselves “encircled by turbines” if all the proposed onshore and offshore developments in the area go ahead.
There will be a total of 24 turbines, with tip heights of up to 149.9m, across Limekiln and part of Broubster Forest.
The main scheme consists of 19 turbines, reduced from 21. The Limekiln extension plan, adding a further five turbines, was given the go-ahead in May 2022.
The wind farm is expected to be operational in 2025. Each turbine will have a maximum capacity of 4.2MW.
Highland Council had originally refused consent for the development in 2019 but that decision was overturned by the Scottish Government.
Boralex says the days for deliveries will vary as they are subject to police approval, but the final confirmation will be notified on the www.limekilnwindfarm.co.uk website on the day of each delivery.
There is also a WhatsApp group and anyone wishing to join should send a request to info@limekilnwindfarm.co.uk with their name and mobile number.
Next week, deliveries are expected on Monday and Thursday.
Further shipments will take place from mid-July and those dates and times will also be published on the website as soon as they are confirmed by Police Scotland.
Speaking ahead of the first delivery, Esbjorn Wilmar, country manager for Boralex UK, said: “Having the turbine components arrive in Caithness this month is a huge step forward for Boralex in our construction of Limekiln, which will generate renewable energy for nearly 100,000 homes.”
Three years ago, Jillian Bundy, chairperson of Caithness West Community Council, warned that the proposal to increase the height of turbines to 149.9m – later approved – would have a “massive impact” on Reay.
She said at the time: “Often when I speak to people who haven’t objected, or who are maybe a bit more ambivalent about the whole thing, the reason has been ‘oh, we’ll never see them, they’re away out on the hill’.
“I think people just don’t realise that they might be two-and-a-half kilometres out on the hill but at [just under] 150 metres they will be visible from everywhere. So I think people don’t quite realise the scale of them.”
