‘The road has been a very long one’: Energy firm boss tells of ‘big fight’ over Reay wind farm
Limekiln wind farm was only able to go ahead after “a big fight”, guests were told at the official opening of the 24-turbine development outside Reay.
Esbjorn Wilmar, UK country director of renewable energy firm Boralex, said the project had been many years in the making and acknowledged there had been opposition within the community.
The 106 MW wind farm has been operational since the start of April but Friday’s event was an opportunity for Boralex to bring together project partners, stakeholders and community representatives for a formal launch.
Limekiln is the Canadian-based company’s first operational site in the UK. It extends to 11.5 square kilometres on land previously used as a commercial forestry plantation.
The 24 turbines have a maximum blade-tip height of 149.9m. At one stage in the planning process the turbines were to measure 139m.
Boralex had previously been in a fifty-fifty joint venture with Infinergy.
Mr Wilmar addressed the gathering in the shadow of one of the turbines before Pieter Hovig, owner of the Limekiln Estate, cut a ribbon.
“The road to this moment has been a very long one,” Mr Wilmar told guests. “We got involved 20 years ago.
“Why did it take so long, you might wonder? Well, the reality is it has been a big fight.
“We didn’t really have all the support of the local community. To be perfectly frank, that is an understatement, so we have seen every public inquiry that you could possibly think of.
“Finally we were able to start and then Covid happened, so the finances didn’t quite work out any more. We had to go back again and we ended up with 150m high turbines.”
He thanked everyone who had played a part in the project and added: “I want to celebrate this fantastic wind farm.”
Mr Wilmar said that Boralex “plays an important role in the UK in terms of the energy landscape” but stressed that more needs to be done.
Friday’s event took place after weeks with little or no rain, and Mr Wilmar referred to the “incredibly dry” ground conditions in the north of Scotland.
“I think that is telling us that climate change is real and we have to do much more, and hopefully this wind farm will help us to do that,” he said.
Patrick Decostre, president and chief executive officer, said he was proud of what had been achieved by the Boralex team. He called it a historic milestone for the company.
It had been claimed that “the vast majority” of people in Reay were opposed to the wind farm amid fears that villagers would be “encircled by turbines” if all the proposed onshore and offshore developments in the area went ahead.
In 2022 Jillian Bundy, chairperson of Caithness West Community Council, warned that landscapes were being “trashed in pursuit of profit” by developers and landowners.
Julie Cusson, senior vice-president for Boralex in the UK, said: “It’s really important to thank the community and also to thank everybody who worked on the project – our subcontractors, our consultants and our people.
“This is our first operational site in the UK, so it’s a big event. We do have wind sites in Canada, the US and France but it’s our first site here.”
When asked about employment arising from the wind farm, Ms Cusson said: “We have eight direct jobs related to this project, 40 to 50 indirect jobs in the community during the operational phase, and we had over 400 people on site during the construction phase.”
Construction of the wind farm began in 2023. It is due to have an operational period of 40 years.
“Over the past two years it has been quite intense,” Ms Cusson said. “Some of the enabling works had started previously, but the main work has been over the past two years.”
The wind farm has opened up new tracks for walkers and cyclists.
“People can come and walk around and bike around, just to see the nature and to see how it integrates well,” Ms Cusson said.
Two years ago the Scottish Government set out an ambition to deliver at least 20 gigawatts of additional renewable electricity capacity by 2030.
Ms Cusson said: “It’s a first step, and as a country we need to continue to invest in renewables if we want to reach the targets of 2030 because they are very ambitious.”
Ms Cusson acknowledged the concerns over the impact on the landscape.
“The consultations are so important. We went through different planning conditions, we changed the site at one point because of some concerns of the community,” she said.
“Everything you build has an impact. What we need to do when we build a site like that is just to make sure that we lower the impact on the community and on the environment, and that’s what we have done.
“We know that it’s not 100 per cent of the people in the region that supports it. At least I think that everybody is really engaged in renewables and a low-carbon economy.”
Invited guests were transported by bus from Thurso, with others joining on the outskirts of Reay. The official opening took place in the middle of the wind farm site, with refreshments laid on in a marquee.
Boralex hosted a ceilidh at the village hall in the evening.
The main Limekiln scheme consists of 19 turbines, reduced from 21. An extension, adding a further five turbines, was given the go-ahead in 2022.
At that time, Mr Wilmar said Limekiln would make “a valid contribution” to the fight against climate change while helping UK energy security.
Highland Council had originally refused consent for the development in 2019 but that decision was overturned by the Scottish Government.
Now there are plans to add a battery storage system to the development.
Last month, after Limekiln became operational, Boralex said: “Apart from zero-carbon electricity, the wind farm will deliver a full package of social, economic and environmental benefits, including biodiversity enhancements such as a native species planting scheme and a peat restoration programme, as well as a community benefit fund of over £500,000 annually for the life of the project.”
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