Campaigners warn ‘doubling’ wind farms will ruin landscape

CAMPAIGNERS fear the SNP pact with the Scottish Greens will see an explosion of unsightly wind farms blighting the landscape.

Under the cooperation agreement between the parties announced on Friday, they have committed to doubling the size of the wind farm industry by 2030.

An overhaul of planning regulations has also been promised to make it ‘faster and easier’ to get permission to build onshore wind farms. But last night, Iain Milligan, spokesman for the Save Our Hills lobby group, said: ‘Rural communities will not tolerate more wind farms with larger turbines.

‘Instead, the Scottish Government, with or without the Greens, should focus on preserving our unique and precious landscape.’ In its manifesto published earlier this year, the Scottish Green Party said: ‘We will support the upgrading of existing wind farms, doubling the size of the industry.’

In the SNP-Greens cooperation agreement, they have stated they will ‘set an ambition to deliver, subject to consultation, between 8GW and 12GW of installed onshore wind by 2030, furthering on our ambitions for up to 11GW of offshore wind. This will be supported by the changes in the planning system needed to permit the growth of this essential, zero-carbon sector.’

Concerns have also been raised about the number of wealthy foreign-owned companies investing in the green technology.

Last year, it emerged that non-Scottish companies had been profiting from subsidies to build wind farms. The payments – of around £1.3 billion in 2019 – were made under the renewables obligation scheme, which was set up in 2002 by the UK Government.

A Scottish Government spokesman said last night: ‘We will ensure that the planning system enables the growth of this essential, zerocarbon sector while continuing to protect our finest scenic landscapes and natural heritage.’