Wind farm construction would mean end to 'dark skies'

 by DOUG COLLIE

The dark skies above a remote Borders landscape will be permanently illuminated for the first time if the go-ahead is given for a massive 45-turbine wind farm covering a 23 square kilometre stretch of hills straddling the Scottish Borders and Dumfries and Galloway.

There have already been concerns from council archaeologists that the Faw Side wind farm in the Langholm and South Roxburghshire area will have negative impacts on what is termed a Prehistoric landscape containing a collection of Iron Age and Bronze Age scheduled monuments.

A decision on the controversial application from CWL Energy - one of the largest projects of its kind in the United Kingdon - to erect turbines ranging in height from 179 to 200 metres was scheduled for the December meeting of Scottish Borders Council Planning and Building Standards Committee.

But that crucial stage of the process has now been put back until February next year as planning officers continue a detailed assessment and await consultation responses from specialists in archaeology and landscaping.

Every one of the turbines would have to be fitted with visible aviation lighting while the Ministry of Defence has maintained its objections to the Faw Side scheme on several fronts.

According to correspondence published on the Scottish Government Energy Consents Unit website there have been numerous objections to the proposals but also a number of submissions supporting CWL Energy's plans.

In a letter from the Defence Infrastructure Organisation, its Senior Safeguarding Manager James Houghton sets out a series of concerns linked to the defence function.

The submission states: "The turbine is approximately 12.8 kilometres from the seismological recording station at Eskdalemuir and falls within its statutory safeguarded area.  Eskdalemuir provides part of the UK contribution to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty as an element of the seismic monitoring network that in turn forms part of the International Monitoring System. Scientific research has established that wind turbines of current design generate seismic ground vibrations which can interfere with the effective operation of the array.

"A noise budget has been allocated to regulate the development of wind turbines within a 50km radius of the array. The reserved noise budget has been reached and as such, MOD must object to this application on the basis that the development would have a significant and detrimental impact on the operation and capability of the Eskdalemuir Seismological Recording Station."

Mr Houghton goes on to claim the Faw Side wind farm would also impact on  the RAF Spadeadam Electronic Warfare Tactics Facility.

"RAF Spadeadam provides a unique facility in the UK and provides a strategically important facility for UK and NATO forces, allowing aircrew to practise manoeuvres and tactics against a variety of common surface to air missile threats that they may encounter when on operations. The proposed wind turbines at Faw Side would be detectable from, and would have an unacceptable impact on, threat radars deployed at Wigg Knowe and Larriston Fell." 

In a follow-up letter Mr Houghton revealed: "The technical assessment identified that the proposed wind farm would be detectable to threat radars when operated at Wigg Knowe and Larriston Fell. Following the technical assessment, an operational assessment was conducted by the Electronic Warfare Tactics Facility which determined that the proposed development would have an unmanageable impact on the operation of threat radar." 

In a reference to military low flying in the area Mr Houghton explains: "The proposed development falls within an area, designated as Tactical Training Area 20T, and used by MOD to conduct low flying training activities. In order to maintain aviation safety, obstacles or structures are required to be charted and fitted with appropriate aviation safety lighting. The turbine heights currently proposed would necessitate that all wind turbines are fitted with aviation safety lighting in accordance with the requirements of the Air Navigation Order (2016)."

The prospect of lighting on each of the 45 turbines has prompted a warning from a senior planning official at Scottish Borders Council that this aspect of the development must be treated with caution.

Karen Ruthven, of the council's Forward Planning Section says in a consultation response: " At present within the Scottish Borders there are no practical examples at hand which can confirm the success or otherwise of turbine lighting. This is an extremely important aspect of this proposal which will introduce artificial lighting into a dark rural area and it is absolutely vital this matter is fully scrutinised.

"The information provided as part of the application submission does seem somewhat limited and inconclusive and it is difficult to state with any great certainty how significant, adverse or otherwise, the lighting will be. Without absolute certainty as to what the visual impacts of the lighting will be it would be wrong to determine this proposal without this being clarified.  It is considered this matter requires further information and discussion.

"Whilst the Council remains proactive in supporting wind turbines in appropriate locations and is aware of the economic benefits these larger turbines can provide, the considerable height of these turbines, along with any lighting, and their impacts on the landscape and a number of receptors must be scrutinised extremely carefully.  A poor decision on this proposal would have detrimental impacts on the landscape and environment on this part of the Scottish Borders."

In its vast collection of documents linked to the Faw Side application, CWL point out: "The applicant is currently seeking to agree an aviation lighting scheme with the CAA [Civil Aviation Authority], in order to secure a reduction in the normal requirements for aviation lighting to be installed on all structures at or above 150m in height. The applicant has appointed the aviation consultant Aviatica to progress this mitigation through the preparation of a bespoke Aeronautical Study.

"The reduced lighting scheme will bring a level of mitigation, as has been successfully achieved at other wind farm developments in Scotland, and therefore we propose draft wording for a planning condition to cover this potential outcome. The condition ultimately confirms that the applicant will adopt the industry standard mitigation at the appropriate time of deployment and allows the developer flexibility and time for the civil aviation lighting to be successfully resolved with the CAA and the aviation industry."