By Mark Mackay

HIGHLAND PERTHSHIRE is to become home to the third-largest wind farm in Scotland— the fourth-largest in Europe.

A mammoth 68 turbines will rise up to 124 metres from the landscape near Aberfeldy as the Griffin project takes shape.

Resigned to the fact it will now be built, local politicians are to seek assurances the area will not suffer.

Mid-Scotland and Fife MSP Murdo Fraser described the announcement as “devastating news,” calling it a “bad decision” and “a sad day for Highland Perthshire.”

The Griffin wind farm will meet electricity demand for more than 114,000 homes and will have a generating capacity of 204 megawatts (MW).

Renewable energy company GreenPower expects to begin construction by the end of the year, with the wind farm fully operational by summer 2010.

The lengthy planning process began in April 2004, when an application was submitted to Perth and Kinross Council, then amended the following August.

The plans faced massive opposition from local people and Perth and Kinross Council’s development control committee rejected them, triggering a public inquiry in 2006.

The final decision appeared to have been made last week as the Scottish Executive issued a press statement indicating permission for Griffin had been granted, with quotes from energy minister Jim Mather welcoming the development.

Just 16 minutes later, a spokesman said the release had been sent as a result of an “administrative error” and maintained a decision had “definitely not” been taken on any Perthshire wind farm.

The blunder left campaigners deflated and deeply suspicious, and yesterday Mr Mather stepped forward again to announce—this time for real— Scottish ministers had granted consent to the development.

He said the Scottish Government is committed to “driving forward a diverse and balanced non-nuclear energy strategy.”

“Renewables capacity is already greater than the installed capacity of nuclear in Scotland,” he said.

“The decision to approve Griffin wind farm is an important milestone in the government’s energy strategy for Scotland, which will include the whole renewable mix, from biomass to the energy we can generate from wave and tide.

“This wind farm will have the capacity to meet electricity demand for more than 100,000 homes—further demonstration of Scotland’s vast renewable energy potential.

“There is no doubt that this country can become the green energy capital of Europe.”

GreenPower chief executive Robert Forrest said the granting of consent was an important milestone for the company and for Scotland.

“As an independent Scottish business, this consent represents a major step forward for us and will underpin significant growth in our business over the next three years,” he said.

“With climate change so high on the national agenda, we are delighted to be able to make a significant contribution to meeting the Scottish Government’s renewable energy target.”

Mr Forrest said the Griffin project has been the subject of more than three years of consultation and pledged that will continue.

“Our team has been committed throughout the development of this project to communicating and engaging with local people,” he said.

“Moving forward, we hope that we can work closely with the local communities during construction and, indeed, over the lifetime of the project.”

Murdo Fraser MSP, who spoke against the wind farm at the public inquiry, said there will be fury in the community at the decision.

“This wind farm will not only damage the local environment but it will also create a scar on our landscape and will be a blow to the local tourism economy, which is extremely important to Aberfeldy and the surrounding area,” he said.

“Now the people of Highland Perthshire will have no option but to accept this wind farm and the damage it will make to our landscape.

“The Griffin application was rejected by the democratically-elected local council after a vigorous and strong local opposition campaign, a decision overturned by ministers sitting in their offices in Edinburgh.

“For years I have been calling for a new strategic approach to wind farm applications and this latest consent just proves why this is now long overdue.

“I fear that this decision will be one that many will regret in the future and I pay tribute to everyone that has stood up against this development.”

SNP politicians said they will be seeking assurances the community will not come to harm during the creation of the wind farm.

“This has been a long process that has left great uncertainty hanging over the Strathbraan area, which was complicated by the regrettable error made by the government news release last Friday,” said John Swinney, MSP for North Tayside and Cabinet Secretary for Finance.

“This decision raises a number of issues about access and transportation to the site, about which there need to be firm assurances.”

Perth and North Perthshire colleague Pete Wishart MP stressed the importance of keeping the community informed at every stage, given the strength of their feelings and concerns.

“In the course of the debate about Griffin, many issues and questions have been raised, particularly to do with access to the site and with the water supply,” he said.

“There are a number of conditions attached to this development and these must be rigorously applied.

“I will now be writing to the energy minister, Jim Mather, to seek these assurances and insist that community concerns are properly taken into account.

“I want to ensure that the community is fully consulted in each stage of this development.”

Highland councillor Ken Lyall said the decision could prove to be the best thing for the area in the long term.

Construction will equate to £200 million worth of contracts, with around a third spent in Perthshire and Scotland.

In addition, the wind farm will employ 12 staff on operation and maintenance and two full-time rangers to support land management and environmental education activities for the lifetime of the project.

Mr Lyall also believes Griffin could ensure there is no further development in the area.

“I think that if a wind farm has to be anywhere in Highland Perthshire then this is perhaps the best place,” he said.

“There many other more picturesque areas in Highland Perthshire where a wind farm would have greater visual impact.

“Given the size of the wind farm I am hopeful that this will impact upon the many other wind farm plans and ensure that there do not have to be any more in Highland Perthshire.”

Mr Lyall added, “It is a large turbine project and I think towns and communities like Aberfeldy, Dunkeld and Grandtully can expect to see community benefits.”

Perth and Kinross Council said only that it will study the details of the decision.

The Scottish Government’s energy consents unit is processing 40 renewable project applications—31 wind farm and nine hydro projects.

The John Muir Trust said the approval made for “a very sad day for Highland Perthshire.”

The trust owns and safeguards eight iconic areas of wild land including parts of Ben Nevis, the Red Cuillin in Skye, Quinag and Sandwood Bay and also Schiehallion in Perthshire, itself “at risk” from the effects of proposed wind farms.

“These 68 turbines, each 124 metres high, will dwarf the forestry and surrounding landscape and change the rural aspect to an industrial one,” the trust’s chief executive, Nigel Hawkins, said yesterday.

“The scale of this is totally inappropriate for such an area and, sadly, is likely to damage the tourism industry both locally and throughout the Highlands and islands.”

Mr Hawkins added, “We are told that we need to accept such severe damage to local environments to ‘save the environment,’ but there is no such simple trade-off.”

He said reducing carbon emissions and “renewable energy targets” do not amount to the same thing, adding, “the most effective way to reduce carbon emissions is to reduce consumption—particularly through transport and through energy conservation measures on buildings.”

The RSPB’s head of planning, Anne McCall, said the government should be applauded.

She said, “This is really good news for Scotland.

“It should be recognised as a great example of a large wind farm, sensibly located away from designated sites where the developer has worked hard to not only minimise environmental impacts but has, in fact, sought to actively improve the surrounding area for some species.”