THE Scottish Government today cited environmental concerns for rejecting plans to build the largest land-based wind farm in Europe on the Isle of Lewis.
Ministers ruled the 176-turbine farm on protected moorland at Barvas Moor in the Western Isles were incompatible with European law. The moor is designated under the EC Bird Directive and EC Habitats Directive.
Government: Standing stones on Lewis, not the Continent's largest wind farm. Picture: TSPL
Developers Lewis Wind Power (LWP) said the decision to turn down the £500 million project was a bitter disappointment. Environmental agencies welcomed the news.
Energy minister Jim Mather said he had considered the views of the local authority, the nearly 11,000 objections and 98 letters of support before coming to his decision.
"European legislation requires a specific procedure to be followed when proposals which could potentially affect Special Protection Areas come forward," Mr Mather said. "I considered all the relevant issues and concluded it would not be possible to approve this application."
Mr Mather continued: "The Lewis Wind Farm would have significant adverse impacts on the Lewis Peatlands Special Protection Area, which is designated due to its high value for rare and endangered birds."
LWP – a consortium of AMEC and British Energy – applied to construct and operate 234 wind turbines on Barvas Moor and other locations in north Lewis in October 2004. The application was trimmed to 176 two years later.
"Lewis Wind Power is bitterly disappointed by the Scottish Government's decision to reject our proposal for a wind farm on Lewis," LWP said in a statement. "Over the six years of this project, we have conducted extensive environmental and economic studies and designed the development around these findings.
"As a result, we believe we had put forward a detailed case showing the benefits of our proposal and the benefits it would bring to Lewis, the Highlands and Islands region and to Scotland.
"We also believe that during our discussions with the government, we demonstrated that this proposal could have been approved without violating European law."
LWP said the development would have created 400 local jobs and had the backing of local council members and businesses.
The Scottish Chambers of Commerce criticised the decision to reject the wind farm. Chief executive Liz Cameron said: "We cannot afford for the Scottish Government to play fast and loose with the security and reliability of our future electricity supplies and run the risk of the lights going out in Scotland."
But environmental groups backed the government for rejecting the development. The Scottish Wildlife Trust said the decision protected one of the most extensive areas of blanket bog in the world.
Western Isles SNP MSP Alasdair Allan said: "Today represents the end of a very long and at times painful debate in the islands.
"This was one of the most controversial planning developments that Scotland has faced in recent times."
He said "most people" would be relieved at the ministers' conclusion but said supporters of the development had argued the case with integrity.
He added: "I have long made clear my own view that the sheer scale and environmental impact of this project was such that it could not command the support of the communities most affected."
SNP MP Angus MacNeil said: "It's a fact that not every scheme makes it through the planning process and when the views of people in the islands are taken into consideration the decision in this proposal could really only have gone one way."
The full article contains 573 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
