News release
For immediate use
At the Scottish Power AGM on the morning of Wednesday 26th July, the Ramblers’ Association Scotland will call on shareholders and investors attending the AGM to reverse company plans to build a large windfarm at Green Knowes in the Ochil Hills.
Cameron McNeish, President of the Ramblers’ Association Scotland, said “We are calling on the shareholders, investors and customers of Scottish Power to turn around the company’s thinking on developments in the Scottish hills Seven large windfarm developments in the planning system for this compact range of hills can be regarded as assault on the landscape, with Scottish Power at the forefront of this mad charge.”
“The real blame for all this lies with the Government. Their Renewables Obligation has stimulated this clamour for planning approval, putting local authorities under immense strain to deal with the surge of huge land-based wind turbines to the exclusion of other renewable energy technologies.”
The recent Government Report on the Energy Review has recognised this imbalance of land-based wind projects. They are proposing that the Renewables Obligation Certificate (ROC) system be amended by “banding” technologies to give more support to the technologies that are more expensive to develop or are further from being commercially viable, while reducing support for technologies which can compete in the electricity market.
Mr McNeish continued, “We are asking shareholders to help protect the Ochils by calling on their company officials to walk away from this development. These turbines would be completely out of scale with the landscape and would have a dramatic impact across this popular small hill range. To refuse to build wind turbines in this location would protect the landscape for the enjoyment of all, and send a clear message that Scottish Power respects the needs and wishes of the various communities who live in these hills or who rely on them as an inspirational recreational resource.”
“Also we are letting shareholders know that during the run-up to the Holyrood parliamentary elections, we will be campaigning for an immediate overhaul of the ROC system, to get “banded” ROCs in place as soon as possible and support a wider range of renewable technologies, not just large onshore wind turbines. We will also be campaigning to get tighter height restrictions built in to planning guidance, so that these 100m plus giants are not dominating the hillsides.”
Notes For Editors:
- Within the Government’s Report of the Energy Review , page 102 http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/review/page31995.html the Government has indicated that “banding” - i.e. emerging technologies being better supported than existing technologies - would best deliver the Government’s aims for renewable energy developments.
- A public inquiry is set for October 2006, where six large wind turbine developments competing for approval in the Ochil Hills will be heard. Scottish Power got ahead of the game with a recent Public Inquiry for their Green Knowes proposal. The Inquiry Reporter decided to allow their appeal against Perth & Kinross Council’s decision to reject the application.
