glowworm awake again!

Sorry, glowworm has been dozing...

By the 30th September 2010 (the closing date for public comment on the first Mossford application), more than two hundred letters and emails had been sent to the planners, the great majority of them agin.

On the 14th October - surprise news: the application has been withdrawn.

The immediate reason given: the objection raised by Scottish and Southern Energy, owners of a power-line running along the Northern boundary of the applicant's property. The proposed 80-metre high turbines were too close to the power-line. If by any chance one should fall down, it could fall onto the power-line. The distance must be at least 1.5 times the turbine height.

Besides that immediate reason, the planners had pointed out many other potential difficulties with the application; in particular the Environmental Health Officer had questions about the predicted noise impact on the three closest dwellings, which could easily receive noise levels in excess of the permitted levels, even with the proposed 'mitigation' (i.e. running the easternmost turbine in 'reduced power mode' when the wind got too high).

The interested reader can look up the following relevant documents, all dated 14/10/2010, on the planning website (at www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/planning/apps/detail.asp?ref_no=APP/2010/2712). They are
1)Environmental Health
2)Comments on Application
3)Email requesting withdrawal of application
4)Letter regarding Landscape Proposals
5)Officer's Comments.

The correspondence between Green Cat Renewables (the applicant's agent) and the planners indicated that a new application, with fewer turbines, was a possibility.

11th January 2011 - a new application was validated, for one 80-metre high turbine at Mossford. (Some observers had predicted that a new application would be put in some time like Christmas Eve; they were one day out - it was actually put in on the 23rd December!)

New application number: www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/planning/apps/detail.asp?ref_no=APP/2010/4064

Expiry date for public comment: 17th February 2011

Essentially, only the middle turbine of the 3 formerly proposed has been retained, and it has been moved South in order to be further away from the power-line.

The predicted noise level at the three nearest third-party dwellings is less than it was before, but still rather close to the permitted level. The predictions could be out by as much as 6 decibels when all sources of error are taken into account.

Objections on the grounds of visual damage to a valuable landscape (Marnoch in particular, and the Deveron Valley in general) would appear to be as valid as they were before. In the balance of costs and benefits, the benefit side would appear to be reduced, as it is now just one 800kW turbine (producing perhaps 200-250 kW on average) that would be casting its shadow over a wide and hitherto unspoilt area.

For more information, and to send a comment to the planners by email, go to
StopMarnochTurbines.com.

For the bigger picture, refer as always to CAWT (Concerned About Wind Turbines, based at Cuminestown).