We are proposing a windfarm with 18 turbines to the south of the village of Spittal in Caithness.

The area under consideration for development is Halsary forest, approximately 2km south of the village of Spittal, adjacent to the existing Causeymire windfarm.  Please see the boundary plan here.

Within ScottishPower Renewables there is a separate team who look at site finding. They have mapped the UK in terms of the major constraints such as aviation, national and international landscape and ecological designations, and to determine whether there is available capacity on the existing grid network. 

The UK has also been mapped in terms of wind speed. This map can be viewed on the BWEA website. Within the areas that are still potentially available to be developed, landowners are then consulted.  Once there is a possibility of a windfarm it is passed to the Project Development team and we look into the site-specific aspects such as ecology, cultural heritage, access, noise and visual aspects to determine whether the site is a viable and an appropriate option.

The proposed capacity of the site was initially thought to be able to accomodate up to 27 turbines but taking into account the constraints that have been identified to date and the area of land available, an eighteen turbine site is now considered to be more appropriate.  With a total site generating capacity up to 41.4 megawatts (MW), this is enough clean, green energy to power approximately 23,000 homes.  We are looking at turbine models in the region of 100m to blade tip.

As a general rule of thumb it is assumed that costs to build a windfarm are around £2 million per turbine at today's rate. This figure includes turbine manufacture, its delivery, its installation, as well as any infrastructure costs associated with the formation of any access tracks. It also includes for the energisation of the turbine, which would then allow it to export electricity to the grid

The turbine manufacturers generally specify a turbine life of 25 years and therefore, within the detail of any planning application; we normally make reference to a 25-year operational life. We ensure that the timeframe requested for planning permission also covers the time required to construct and eventually decommission the site.

Why this is a good area for a windfarm

• Good wind speed;
• Good access to the site;
• Not in a designated protected area;
• Environmentally suitable; and
• Proximity to potential grid connections.