25 YEARS AGO Friday May 7, 1999
Beinn a Tuirc wind farm gets the go-ahead
Plans to build the UK’s most powerful wind farm at Beinn An Tuirc have been given the green light by Argyll and Bute Council.
The move could see the reopening of Campbeltown Shipyard and the creation of between 30 and 50 much-needed jobs in the unemployment black spot.
It is hoped that the proposed contract to build the 46 turbine towers at the yard by project leaders CRE Energy Ltd (ScottishPower) could lead to future contracts and permanent work, as well as more than 60 jobs at the site itself.
However, the council’s decision does not mean that the project can definitely go ahead – the Secretary of State for Scotland has the final say in the matter, and the case will now be referred to him.
Members of the area committee for Mid Argyll, Kintyre and Islay were “minded to approve” the Beinn an Tuirc application at a meeting held in Kilmory.
Former managing director of the shipyard, Leslie Howarth OBE, has been in talks with ScottishPower and Danish-based manufacturers of wind turbines about the possibility of using the yard to build the equipment. He was at the area committee meeting to hear the council’s decision.
He told the Courier: “I am ecstatic. It is promising for Campbeltown that we have got the prospect of creating jobs again, getting the yard open and getting first-class workers back into employment. The workers gave 100 per cent before, and they will give 100 per cent again.”
After the meeting, Alan Mortimer, project manager for ScottishPower, said: “I am absolutely delighted, it is tremendous news. This will be our biggest mass production in the UK, and it is very important to our renewable energy strategy.”
Robert Currie, the councillor for Mid Kintyre, has been involved with wind farms since they were first discussed, and was also happy with the decision.
“This is a big success for Kintyre, and I am very pleased that it has happened before I retire,” he told the Courier. But the process between now and having the wind farm operating could be slow. Mitigation terms were set out by the council, which ScottishPower had to agree to, as golden eagles nest near the site, and they must be protected.
The company changed their plans to ensure that the birds would not be affected, and will now implement a management plan of the surrounding area for a period of two years before work begins on the site.