Consent for a wind farm in Perthshire capable of meeting electricity demand for more than 100,000 homes was granted today by Ministers. The 68 turbine Griffin wind farm near Aberfeldy will have a generating capacity of 204 Megawatts (MW) of electricity. But this has created some ill wind in Aberfeldy and the surrounding Perthshire countryside.

Despite this, Scottish Government Energy Minister, Jim Mather said: "Renewables capacity is already greater than the installed capacity of nuclear in Scotland. The decision to approve Griffin windfarm 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.

Whether it is onshore or offshore wind, tidal, wave, biomass, clean coal or carbon capture technology, Scotland has a powerful competitive advantage in clean, green sources of energy. And the Scottish Government is commited to driving forward a diverse and balanced non-nuclear energy strategy.

In doing so, we will help tackle climate change without adding to the burden of toxic radioactive waste that new nuclear power would bring."

Meanwhile, Nigel Hawkins of the John Muir Trust, an organisation looking after countryside conservation issues reacted to Jim Mather's statement. Nigel said “It’s a very sad day for Highland Perthshire. These 68 turbines, each 124 metres high, will dwarf the forestry and surrounding landscape and change the rural aspect to an industrial one. 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. Tourism is Scotland’s biggest industry and surveys show that the beautiful landscape is one of the major reasons for visiting”.

He then added “We are told that we need to accept such severe damage of local environments to 'save the (global) environment'. There is no such simple trade-off. The John Muir Trust is fully supportive of the government’s targets to reduce carbon emissions. However, 'renewable energy targets' are not the same thing. For instance, the most effective way to reduce carbon emissions is to reduce consumption – particularly through transport and through energy conservation measures on buildings. This decision suggests wishful thinking that if we allow enough, hugely subsidised, industrial onshore wind developments to go ahead, the government can avoid the hard choices of curbing air and other travel, or telling people that they can’t continue to have economic growth at the expense of our environment. If only the government would show the enthusiasm for energy consumption reduction measures, such as house insulation, that they have shown today for big business, they might even start addressing fuel poverty.”

Article by Charles Litster