The Scotsman

RSPB fails in bid to stop offshore wind turbines

- By ILONA AMOS Environmen­t Correspond­ent

Constructi­on of a £2 billion offshore wind farm in the North Sea will begin next year after judges blocked a long-running battle by conservati­onists to stop the developmen­t.

In 2014, Scottish ministers granted the go-ahead for four major wind farms to be built in the Forth and Tay, but RSPB Scotland launched a judicial review, claiming the schemes would pose a serious threat to globally important seabirds.

RSPB Scotland won an initial court victory, but that decision was overturned in May, giving a green light for the Neart Na Gaoithe, Inch Cape and Seagreen Alpha and Bravo projects and prompting the charity to seek an appeal in the UK’S supreme court.

Nowjudgesh­averefused­permission for the appeal, meaning plans can go forward.

Work on the 450-megawatt Neart na Gaoithe, which will generate enough electricit­y to supply 325,000 homes, is set to start in the Forth next year.

Andy Kinsella, chief executive of Mainstream Renewable Power, which is developing Neart na Gaoithe, said: “After more than two and a half years, two court hearings and two rejected applicatio­ns for leave to appeal by RSPB Scotland, we can finally focus on delivering the very significan­t benefits this project brings to the Scottish economy and its environmen­t.”

He said the wind farm will displace 400,000 tonnes of cli- 0 Anne Mccall: Said schemes would be harmful to seabirds mate-warming carbon dioxide each year and create hundreds of permanent jobs.

Advances in wind turbine technology mean the number of turbines being erected in the scheme has been reduced from 125 in the original design to a maximum of 54.

Anne Mccall, director of RSPB Scotland, expressed her disappoint­ment at the Supreme Court decision.

She said: “The ministers’ own assessment­s spelt out huge risks to seabird population­s, including to puffins, gannets and kittiwakes which nest on our coasts and feed in the shallow waters in and around these projects.

“If these consents and their predicted impacts are realised, there is little doubt these would be amongst the most damaging offshore wind farms for seabirds in the world.”

She said the charity will continue to seek solutions that will tackle climate change but do not cause “additional damage to some of those very things we are seeking to protect”.

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