Published: Thursday, 25th June, 2009 7:30am

Villagers' blast for wind farm

by Siew Peng Lee

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A SALINE community group and West Fife"s MP have spoken out against an application for a wind farm near the village.

ABO Wind has submitted a planning application to erect five turbines at Easter Muirhead Farm, about 2km northwest of Saline.

The company received permission to put a 50m-high wind monitoring mast at the site last year.

The proposed scheme will have a total installed generation capacity of 10-15 megawatts – which ABO says could produce electricity for between 5700 and 8600 households, and will help prevent the release of several hundred thousand tonnes of carbon dioxide over its 25-year lifespan.

If approved, the estimated value of contracts available for tender by local companies will be around £1 million.

The company plans to encourage local contractors for the construction, operation and maintenance of the wind farm, and local manufacturers will be given priority to source auxiliary equipment such as electrical installations, fences and road construction materials.

But campaign group Saline Community Against These Turbines (SCATT) and Dunfermline and West Fife MP Willie Rennie have their concerns.

SCATT member Gareth Turner said there was 'more disadvantage than benefit' if the plan went through.

He said, 'We are against it and we are able to determine, based on the conversations we have had with people in the community, that they are against it too.

'The energy doesn"t go into Saline, it goes into the national grid. It doesn"t generate any long-term employment for anybody because they are managed remotely.

'There"s some construction work for the local community but that"s not guaranteed either because it"s open to tender.

'And while construction is going on there will be a lot of work and noise and all it will leave the community with are these giant structures.'

He also highlighted the visual impact of the turbines, saying, 'It will be interesting to see if the turbines are still 120m tall or if they have reduced it.

'If it"s still 120m it would exceed what"s recommended by other guidelines, which recommend a maximum height of 100m.

'There are about 200 homes within a 2km distance and 22 homes within 1km. The fact that they are going to be so close means there"s going to be noise.

'Low-frequency noise that"s generated can be distressing to people and you have to ask if it"s fair to subject people to this risk.'

Mr Turner said SCATT was not being "nimbyistic" or against renewable energy but said the wind farm was an 'industrialisation of a rural area'.

He said, 'Generally nobody"s going to be against the concept of renewable energy.

'But we all know that there are periods when wind doesn"t blow and you need backup and that comes from gas or coal-fired power stations.

'Another question is, would it not be more sensible to optimise the sites already available in Scotland and to put these five over there, for example in Lanarkshire or the back of the Ochils?

'Saline is a low-lying site, whereas if you put it up on a hill you would capture the wind more effectively.'

Mr Rennie was 'bitterly disappointed' that ABO had gone ahead despite his advice to look elsewhere in Fife.

He said, 'I am opposed to the idea because I think that corner of Fife has been used as a dumping ground, most recently with the opencast, and I don"t think the community should have to take any more.

'The wind farm is way too close to the village and I asked ABO to withdraw their proposal.

"I am disappointed that they have not accepted my plea to look elsewhere because I am now going to formally oppose the plan.'

Jenny Walsh, ABO Wind project manager, said, 'We are committed to maintaining communication with the local community on the wind farm proposals, as the application moves through the council"s planning process.'