‘The wind never stops blowing’ – refusal of Thurso wind farm ‘doesn’t make sense’ says Forss resident
A proposed five-turbine wind farm mooted for a site near Thurso has been refused by planners despite changes made to a previous application.
The Cairnmore Hill Wind Farm was knocked back by Highland Council under delegated powers.
RES, the renewable energy firm behind the plans, said it was disappointed after having its development plans for the site turned down for a second time.
It said it “expressed strong disappointment” that the decision was not taken to the local planning committee “given the important economic and environmental benefits that the project would deliver to the region”.
A long-time supporter of the scheme who lives closest to the site at Forss said the decision didn’t make sense.
In a statement shared by RES, James Mackay said: “It’s a great location for a wind farm, the wind never stops blowing. Their decision means that we’re missing out on local construction jobs and contracts as well as much-needed funding for community groups in Forss and Thurso.
“It would have given the area a boost, so it’s a real shame it’s not gone through.”
The company said the five-turbine proposal, located around 4.5km west of Thurso, lies outwith any nature conservation, landscape or cultural heritage designations, and within an area identified by Highland Council as having “potential for wind farm development”.
The scheme also included measures to enrich key habitats across the site and achieve a 16 per cent biodiversity net gain.
Euan Hogg, RES development project manager, said: “We carefully considered the council’s feedback on our previous eight-turbine proposal and significantly reduced the scheme in response to this, so we’re naturally disappointed by the refusal – particularly given the importance of projects like Cairnmore Hill amidst the climate change emergency we are facing.
“This project could deliver significant inward investment to the area in addition to playing an important part in helping meet Scotland’s net zero carbon targets.
“Community support for the project has also been shown with over 200 support letters submitted into planning. We will now take time to review the council’s decision and consider our options for the site.”
If consented, RES claimed the scheme was predicted to deliver around £1.4 million of inward investment in the form of jobs, employment and the use of local services as well as £8.75 million in business rates to Highland Council over the wind farm’s operational lifetime.
RES had also committed to providing a tailored package of benefits aligned with community priorities to benefit the Caithness West and Thurso Community Council areas, with Cairnmore Hill understood to be the first wind farm in Caithness to include Thurso Community Council as a direct beneficiary.
Cairnmore Hill would have been capable of generating enough electricity to meet the annual demand of around 28,000 homes and offsetting approximately 23,736 tonnes of carbon emissions compared to the use of fossil fuels, the company added.
The RES statement continued: “New onshore wind projects like Cairnmore Hill, alongside other renewable energy technologies, are the cheapest form of new electricity generation and can be deployed quickly.
“Onshore wind also increases energy security by reducing reliance on imports and building resilience to sudden fossil fuel price fluctuations and the uncertainty of global markets. With the rising cost of living and climate change emergency, projects like Cairnmore Hill are crucial to help support the transition to a zero-carbon future.”
