Renewable energy developments will ‘destroy Caithness’
The chairman of a rural community council in Caithness has warned that the push for more and more large-scale renewable energy developments will “destroy the county that we live in”.
Stuart Mills, chairman of Halkirk District Community Council, declared: “All the developers are in this to make money – that’s their primary aim. They’re not there to save the planet, or net-zero, they’re there to make money. This is all business.
“And there is a direct impact on the people who live here which is mainly dismissed by the planning process, unfortunately.”
Mr Mills was speaking on Wednesday night at an extraordinary general meeting of the community council in the Ross Institute, Halkirk, which had been called to take stock of major energy developments in the surrounding area.
It was prompted by the plans by SSEN Transmission for the massive Banniskirk Hub substation which, if approved, will cover a site as big as Halkirk.
Related stories:
‘How long before we are forced out of our homes?’ Residents face ‘major anxiety’ over Banniskirk Hub
Banniskirk Hub offers ‘best balance from environmental and technical perspective’
Highland councillor says scaled-down Banniskirk scheme could be way forward
Mr Mills said: “I don’t think we’ve ever experienced this level of development in an area like this before.”
“We all understand the need for power in our houses. We also understand that we need to generate power in the most environmentally friendly way.
“What is needed is a clear definition of what is required to achieve this, and assess it correctly based on the impact it has on our unique landscape and the wellbeing of the people who live here.
“The totality of the developments and supporting infrastructure is not clear, nor is the impact fully understood. Breaking it down into salami-slicing not acceptable.
Top stories
-
What was Nazi professor really doing at Weydale in 1938? Racially profiling Caithness travellers or spying for the Third Reich?
-
‘It was something he always wanted to do’: Stephen’s recollections of working at Dounreay
-
Former RBS manager says banking hub will be ‘a huge plus for Wick’
-
Missing man found after through-the-night Thurso air, sea and land search
“Whilst we all look at achieving net-zero, I don’t think anybody actually understands what net-zero actually is at the moment.”
He pointed out that excessive wind capacity leads to high compensation payments.
Speakers at the meeting were Edith Budge, on behalf of Achalone residents living close to the Banniskirk Hub site, and Kathrin Haltiner, who runs the Highland Renewables Database website.
Ms Haltiner, who is originally from Switzerland and moved to Caithness eight years ago, displayed a series of charts to argue that Banniskirk Hub is “out of proportion for Caithness” and that there is no need for additional capacity in Scotland.
She said: “It will be very expensive to get additional capacity to England, and England might not be interested.
“Developers claim they save the environment with their contribution to net-zero, but any further development only harms the environment. The bill will be paid by the people.
“We have to stop now. We have done our bit. All we are doing now is destroying what is left of the environment in order to make multinationals richer.”
Ms Haltiner showed a drawing of the planned hub in comparison to part of Thurso town centre.
She pointed out that the Banniskirk complex would stretch as far as the distance between Princes Street Surgery and the Comm bar, or between the public library and the second-hand book shop in the pedestrian precinct.
Ms Haltiner added: “What you can see is that the size of Banniskirk [Hub] is about the size of Halkirk, so our nice little village here will just be surrounded by substations.
“One day you live in the countryside, then all of a sudden you’re surrounded by construction for maybe 10 years. And once that’s done there is a town built around you – but a town that’s not made of nice amenities but industrial infrastructure and fences that keep you out.”
Mr Mills thanked both speakers for their “exceptionally powerful presentations”.
He said: “We’ve reached a point where we’ve got too much in the area.
“We’ve got to be open and honest now about the scale and impact on local residents.
“We’re asked to assess these. We put our comments forward and they’re mainly ignored and dismissed.
“We’re the people who have to live with this 24/7. I can now see 58 windmills from my house [at Westerdale] – that, apparently, is acceptable. I get noise, and further developments are going to make that noise even worse.
“We have real concerns regarding what is going on at the moment, and across the county we’re seeing this.
“I think we’ve reached a point where if these all get approval – and the way it’s going, I can’t see many of them getting rejected – we are going to destroy the county that we live in.
“We want to live in an open landscape and we value the wellbeing of living here. And we’re not getting that – we’re getting absolutely destroyed.”
Ms Haltiner noted: “If Banniskirk gets the go-ahead, the floodgates will open even more.”
Calvin Wilson, chairman Watten Community Council, was “staggered” by the figures presented by Ms Haltiner.
He said: “I’ve lived in a few different places and the reason I moved back to Caithness is to raise my family here, because I love it – it’s my home. And it’s being destroyed. And we have no power. We have no voice.”
