Sanquhar II Community Wind Farm planning update

The proposed Sanquhar II Community Wind Farm has moved a step closer, following the submission of ‘additional information’ to Scottish Government ministers.

Community Windpower first applied for planning consent in March 2019 for the wind farm, which would be an extension of its existing operational Sanquhar Community Wind Farm, which supplies green electricity to Nestle UK and Ireland to power 50% of its factories, offices and warehouses.

An ‘additional information’ request was made via a Regulation 19 application from the Energy Consents Unit (ECU), following formal consultation with statutory and non-statutory consultees, and this has now been submitted.

There have been a number of changes to the wind farm since the original application, the main ones being the reduction in the number of turbines, from 50 to 44, and the removal of a construction compound and one borrow pit.

The additional information includes updates on the Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment (LVIA), ornithological and ecology surveys, peat slide risk assessment, noise, traffic and transport movements and aviation elements.

The scheme will offset more than 546,000 tonnes of CO² every year, which equates to almost 22 million tonnes during its 40-year operational life*. Dumfries & Galloway and East Ayrshire Councils will gain £154m through business rates during the wind farm’s operation.

Rob Fryer, director of civils and business development at Community Windpower, said: “Following on from the original application in early 2019, we’ve taken time to listen and consider the feedback from statutory and non-statutory consultees.

“This is now reflected in the submission of the ‘additional information’ as requested by the Energy Consents Unit.

“We now hope Sanquhar II Community Wind Farm is one step closer to a positive decision by the Scottish Government, helping it deliver on the its own net zero carbon target by 2045 in the current climate emergency and also boost the green economy in Scotland.

“Even though the scheme is reduced by six turbines the 308MW Sanquhar II Community Wind Farm will provide clean, green electricity to power more than 335,000 homes annually and would offset more than half a million tonnes of CO² every year.

“It will also contribute significant financial benefit to the local communities, through a community benefit fund of £2,500 per MW of the available grid capacity for the scheme over its lifetime.

“Each area would need its own trust fund, whether new or existing, to manage and administer the funding.

“We also have a ‘Buy Scottish’ policy, which means we’ll be using Scottish firms, wherever possible, during the construction and working life of the wind farm.

“At the same time as submitting the ‘additional information’ we’ve advertised it according to the EIA regulations and will be providing all relevant community councils with a copy of the submitted documents.”

The ‘additional information’, together with a copy of the EIA Report, is available free of charge on the Sanquhar II Community Wind Farm website (www.sanquhar2windfarm.co.uk) and the Scottish Government Energy Consents Unit website (www.energyconsents.scot) using the reference (ECU00001801).

Notes

The submission consists of the following key elements, plus other general updates:

Removal of six turbines and associated infrastructure, taking the scheme down to 44 turbines
Removal of a construction compound and one borrow pit
An update on the LVIA report with additional viewpoints that were requested by certain consultees
Updated ornithology chapter with recent survey data included
Updated peat slide risk assessment after additional survey work
Updated private water supply information
Traffic and transport updates – updated traffic movement calculations to reflect the changes to the size of the scheme
Update on aviation elements

*compared to fossil fuel mixed electricity generation.

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