Walkers, on reaching the summit of Clachnaben, could soon be greeted by 26 wind turbines, each one higher than the London Eye. A planning application will be submitted to the Scottish Government probably in October 2018 and during a short period of consultation we will all have an opportunity to comment.
The stunning views over a large part of Scotland from the Cairn o'Mount road have delighted and encouraged both locals and tourists from all over the world to visit this part of Scotland. This view will change if the plans are allowed to go ahead. These manmade structures measuring nearly 500 feet (150m) will be some of the tallest onshore turbines anywhere in the UK - a 747 jumbo jet would easily fit within the span of the giant turbine blades. On driving over the natural landscape of the Cairn o'Mount, the large wind turbines will be clearly visible from the road as they will be from the summits of Lochnagar and many other Cairngorm summits. Some of the turbines will also be visible from Scolty and surrounding villages.
Clachnaben is one of the iconic landmarks of Deeside, enjoyed by thousands of visitors every year. The Clachnaben area has been recognised as a special landscape area by Aberdeenshire Council. This natural moorland contains a vast area of peat bog. There are many reasons why this landscape is so special, providing nesting or feeding opportunities to golden eagles, curlew, merlin, red kite, ring ouzel, golden plover, snipe, buzzard, short eared owl, osprey and many others.
This will all change as, to prepare the site, 1,000s of tonnes of concrete will be needed to make the base of each turbine, perhaps 30,000 tonnes of concrete in all. There are no plans to remove this concrete when and if the windturbines are decommissioned. An enormous road network, over 30 kms long, will need to be build, excavating yet even more peat bogs many thousands of years old and storing vast amounts of methane and CO2, which will all be released, not only during construction, but for many years to come, and which will contribute to climate change. These roads need to be wide enough to take the large articulated lorries that will transport the huge turbines and blades.
After the construction of the windfarm is over, we will face a second round of destruction when the utilities are installed to take the power away from the site to the grid, most likely overland on huge metal poles, and with the addition of an unsightly 120 MVA transformer station on site. The developers are unwilling to share any information on how this second phase will look, claiming it is not their responsibility.
And finally, will Coriolis be happy with the 26 wind turbines they reduced their application to ? Or will they, after a few years, put in a second application for the same amount of turbines again, just as has been happening at Midhill windfarm...