Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Scottish Government green lights wind farm expansion in scenic Great Glen

Consent granted for SSE Bhlaraidh wind farm extension in the Highlands near Loch Ness.
Consent granted for SSE Bhlaraidh wind farm extension in the Highlands near Loch Ness.

Final approval of plans to extend the Bhlaraidh wind farm near Fort Augustus will create ‘substantial opportunities’ for local employment and investment, according to developer SSE Renewables.

The Scottish Government formally approved an application by SSE Renewables on Tuesday, which will see further turbines added to the the existing Bhlaraidh Wind Farm development, near Invermoriston in the Great Glen.

The 32-turbine, 108MW wind farm began operating in 2017, but the new plans would add an additional 15 units with an installed capacity of up to 100MW and a tip height of up to 180m, depending on turbine selection.

Highland Council’s South Area planning applications committee approved SSE’s plans with no objections earlier this year, but the final decision rested with central government.

SSE has said that the approval will mean “significant investment” in the area.

Around one-third of Bhlaraidh Wind Farm’s capital and operating expenditure – more than £120 million – is projected to be secured in the Great Glen during the life span of the development, it said.

“The Scottish Government’s decision to approve our application for Bhlaraidh Extension Wind Farm is a positive move for the environment and the Highland economy. The construction of Bhlaraidh Extension will provide significant opportunities for businesses and tradespeople in the region and will also create substantial opportunities for local and regional community investment through the establishment of a new community fund, just as the existing Bhlaraidh Wind Farm community fund has done,” said project manager Craig Cunningham.

“We will take some time to review the detail of the Scottish Government’s decision before work begins on all of the pre-construction activity necessary to allow us to proceed with the main construction of the project, subject to reaching a Final Investment Decision (FID) which is targeted for 2024,” he added.

SSE Renewables’ head of onshore development Derek Hastings added: “The Highland region is crucial to SSE Renewables and the development of projects like Bhlaraidh Extension Wind Farm, along with other projects such as Cloiche, Strathy South and Achany Extension, is proof of our long-standing and deep commitment to generating a thriving, long-term renewable energy industry in the Highlands.”

Conversation