OREANDA-NEWS. SSE Renewables, the renewable energy development division of SSE, has revised its Strathy South wind farm proposal in Sutherland, which is currently in planning, and submitted an Addendum to the Scottish Government for a much reduced scheme.

The Addendum amends the 77 turbine scheme down to 47 with a revised and improved design which significantly reduces its environmental impact, particularly on birds and peatland, and is aimed at addressing the main concerns raised by consultees when it was originally submitted into planning in 2007.

Turbines have been re-positioned to avoid sensitive areas such as deep peat, and pulled back, where possible, from the south and east forest edges to increase the distance from nearby designations. In addition, the turbine buffer from watercourses has been increased to 70m, and a bird corridor introduced through the site. The maximum turbine tip height has also been increased from 110m to 135m, although visibility in the surrounding area remains minimal. The grid route and access tracks have been moved further away from designated areas, with better use of existing tracks, and borrow pits and lay-down areas have been rationalised to lessen overall impact. All of these changes have resulted in the carbon payback period for the project reducing to 18 months.

Director of SSE Renewables, Colin Nicol, said: “Since our original submission in 2007 we have undertaken a considerable amount of work and consultation to address the concerns raised. A wealth of environmental work supports the ES Addendum, including bird data collected over a 10 year period, over 2,4000 peat probes taken from across the site, and a full environmental impact assessment.

“Whilst Strathy South is located in a commercial forestry plantation, we recognise the importance of the surrounding area in terms of peatland and birds, and as a responsible developer we have made clear commitments to restore already degraded peatlands and manage habitats for key species both in and around the site.

“The existing peatland area on which the site is located has been significantly degraded and impacted upon by the planting of commercial forests, and whilst the project will impact on 86 hectares (71% of which is conifer plantation), a total of 1,100 hectares of conifer plantation will be removed from site and the peatland restored as part of our environmental management plan. In addition, any new tracks on areas of deeper peat will be constructed as 'floating' roads to further reduce their impact.

“Whilst we have lost a significant number of turbines from these design changes, we feel that the environmental gain has been worth it and that this is now a much stronger proposal. Should the scheme be consented, we will involve local companies to maximise economic benefits for the area and work closely with the community, as we have been doing for Strathy North.”