News Release
Embargoed until 0001 hrs on Sunday 2nd October 2005
The Ramblers’ Association Scotland are critical of plans by Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE), lodged with the Scottish Executive, for a massive upgrade of a powerline from Beauly to Denny.
Cameron McNeish, Ramblers Scotland’s President, hit out at the proposals: “ This massive upgrade, involving electricity pylons 50-60m high (165-195 ft), through the heart of the Highlands will be disastrous for the region. In effect SSE are creating a new ‘energy highway’ into remote and environmentally sensitive areas. The result of this increase in transmission capacity will be to encourage even more giant wind turbines to seek connection to it in order to feed the energy junkies down south.”
Questions are being raised over the need for such an increase in transmission capacity. Recent figures from the Forum for Renewable Energy Developments in Scotland (FREDS) state that we only need another 3,400 megawatts of renewable energy capacity over and above that already given approval in order to meet the Scottish Executive’s 2020 target of 40% of electricity generated coming from renewable sources (1). The National Grid Company have released figures that there are 17,000 megawatts of wind power seeking connection to the grid in Scotland already. The cost of upgrading the transmission network to meet this target is £250,000 for each megawatt to be connected (2).
Cameron McNeish continued: “We are concerned about the impact of this powerline and its relationship to the government’s energy and environmental policies.
“There is increasing opposition to large-scale, land-based windfarms in Scotland, and with the Scottish Executive making changes to the funding arrangement to encourage more marine energy, government policy is beginning to point more in favour of large-scale schemes being located offshore. This is likely to increase the need for subsea rather than long distance land-based transmission. The advantage of a sub-sea connection is that it can link offshore power plants to existing land-based high voltage lines, near to where the power is needed.
“All this points increasingly for land-based wind energy generation in Scotland to be designed to meet local needs, reducing demand on the grid, and further reducing the need for a huge powerline traversing some of Scotland’s finest wild country.
“Furthermore, with the costs of implementing these schemes ending up with the electricity consumer, the Scottish Executive must now step in and put this powerline through a Public Local Inquiry to examine the implications of the situation in more detail.”
ENDS
More Information:
Davie Black, Ramblers’ Association Wildland Campaign Officer: Tel: 01557 861222 (office)
Notes:
(1) Scottish Executive News Release, July 22, 2005
(2) Department of Trade & Industry: Transmission Issues Working Group Final Report June 2003.
