Published: Thursday, 18th September, 2008 8:05am

Saline villagers unite to fight wind farm proposal

by Dolores Aughy

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A RESIDENTS" group in Saline has been formed to oppose a possible planning application for a seven-turbine wind farm to the west of the village.

East Calder-based firm ABO Wind UK Ltd received planning permission in June to erect a 50m-high wind monitoring mast at Easter Muirhead Farm - which was erected this month - with a view to finding the most suitable design for a wind farm at the site.

However, the residents" group, which has around 30 members, plans to oppose the wind energy developer"s potential plans for a wind farm.

Member Gareth Turner (52) explained, 'This group doesn"t want to be seen as a group of people who are saying - "not in my back yard, anywhere else but here".

'It"s more to do with the fact that we feel this is a very inappropriate site. The turbines, each 120 metres tall, would render it unsuitable according to Fife Council"s own guidelines on wind farms found in the supplementary planning guidance on wind energy, which was published in April 2008.

'This guidance advises a buffer zone of 2km distance to any residential dwelling. The proposed wind farm plan would mean some 200 residential houses would be within a 2km distance of the turbines. An attractive valley location would be turned into some kind of industrial zone.

'The other real concern is the, as yet, unproven effects of infrasound that are apparently produced by wind turbines.'

Mr Turner, who lives within the 2km zone, continued, 'Due to the low altitude of the land these turbines are going to be 120 metres high to blade tip. This is approximately 30 metres higher than the recent installation in Glen Devon.

'Most wind farms are located on hill sides or hill tops to try to take advantage of the higher wind speed found at altitude.

'Somewhere at the back of Knockhill would be a better location which has some natural elevation to start with.'

Mr Turner added that the group had 'little confidence' in the planning process, fearing that even if the council planners were to refuse permission, the applicant would appeal to the Government who could overrule the decision.

The residents" group was set up in April after news of ABO Wind UK Ltd"s plans to apply for planning permission for the monitoring mast filtered through.

Mr Turner added, 'I believe ABO are proposing to hold an exhibition for the residents of Saline about their plans at the community centre in October. We would encourage everybody in Saline to go to that.

'We are thinking of ways in which we can give the residents of Saline the other side of the story so when they go to the exhibition they can be encouraged to ask the right kind of questions, so that they are then appropriately informed and can then make decisions.'

Mr Turner underlined that the group was not opposed to wind energy or renewables, but the particular site.

He added, 'There is an increasing number of residents who feel, as I do, that this technology is not appropriate as a real solution to viable alternative energy.

'The subsidies being offered by the government means energy costs from winds are higher than from conventional sources and the operator pockets most of the revenue generated. As we all know the wind is erratic so generation is inconsistent and requires standby alternative sources of generation.

'What many people I have spoken to fail to realise is that electricity on this scale cannot be stored so if there is no demand at the point of generation, decisions are made by the Grid operators as to what sources to reduce in output. This might mean stopping wind turbines rather than powering down a gas or coal fired power station for a short period.'

ABO senior project manager, Jenny Walsh, told the Press last month that the wind monitoring mast would help gather useful information on specific wind speeds in the area.

She said, 'This information is being collected as part of a detailed environmental assessment process which will influence our design proposals for the wind farm, which will, in due course, be the subject of a separate planning application to Fife Council.

'Once the detailed environmental assessment is complete, we will finalise our design proposals and then enter into a period of consultation across the local community.'

She added, 'We are very keen to hear what members of the local community think about the project. An important part of this will be the public exhibition. The public exhibition will feature photo montages which illustrate the visual impact of the wind farm from various viewpoints around the site.'

She added that the exhibition would be open during the day and into the early evening to allow maximum opportunities to attend.

A formal planning application for the wind farm is expected to be submitted towards the end of the year.