An environmental group says it is ”incensed” at plans to build more wind turbines in the Ochil hills.
Friends of the Ochils has condemned a trio of applications by Wind Prospect, amounting to a total of 18 new turbines in and around the existing Burnfoot Hill Windfarm.
If successful, the company will be able to more than double its current 13-turbine presence in the area, on the Perth and Kinross/Clackmannanshire border.
As well as two more turbines at Burnfoot itself, nine turbines will form a cluster, known as Rhodders, nearby, while a seven-turbine cluster would be created on Frandy Hill.
Friends of the Ochils’ Malcolm Best said: ”We believe the Ochils are a critically important recreation area and clearly recognised as such by the significant funding the Heritage Lottery Fund has given to the Ochils Landscape Partnership.
”Clackmannanshire has already designated their part of the Ochils as an Area of Great Landscape Value (AGLV) and the Rhodders site is in the AGLV and while the other two are in Perth and Kinross, they will be highly visible from the AGLV.
”The erection of these turbines tears at the heart of the Ochils. The experience of climbing to the top of Ben Cleuch the highest peak in the Ochils will be fatally compromised for at least the next 25 years by the ridiculous number of turbines that will be on display from that peak.”
He said the enjoyment of the hills is being ruined for walkers and climbers, many who make the relatively short journey from Edinburgh and Glasgow to enjoy the scenery.
He said: ”From numerous viewpoints it is already possible to see several windfarms Burnfoot, Greenknowes, Braes of Doune and Lochelbank.
”Currently these windfarms at least appear as separate windfarms but filling in the gaps with Rhodders and Frandy Hill will make it look like one giant windfarm.
”The cumulative impact of all these windfarms will be a disaster as far as visitors, hill goers and local residents are concerned.
”In fact this development would turn the Ochils into a landscape of windfarms rather than a landscape of beautiful hills with some windfarms.”
The group has warned another windfarm project between Auchterarder and Muthill is still in the pipeline, while the impending arrival of the Beauly to Denny power line pylons and proposed extension of quarrying activities in Glendevon will add to the ”industrialisation” of the hills.
The plans are a scaled-down version of multinational renewable energy firm Wind Prospect’s original proposal for 22 turbines and follow a period of public consultation.
The company’s Sarah Dooley said there is room for more turbines but acknowledged ”saturation” point may be reached in the Ochils in the future.
She said: ”During the construction of Burnfoot Hill we established there was potentially scope for additional turbines in and around the area. There are other developers doing other things and there will get to a point where the Ochils reach saturation but that point hasn’t been reached yet.
”We’ve engaged with Friends of the Ochils form an early stage and given them the opportunity to comment but they don’t think it’s a suitable location for windfarm developments so there’s not much more we can do.
”But we will continue to speak to them for as long as the applications take to be determined and then in the future as well.”
Photo by Flickr user Nick Bramhall