Glenmorie wind farm denied planning permission by energy minister after public local inquiry says it should not be built
The Scottish government has refused planning permission for an 114MW on shore wind farm at Glenmorie in the Scottish Highlands.
The scheme consisted of 34 turbines of up to 125m in height near Bonar Bridge, north of Inverness.
The wind farm would have provided contracts worth up to 拢46m to the Scottish economy during its construction and generated enough electricity to power 61,000 homes once it was complete, its developers said.
However, Scottish energy minister Fergus Ewing refused to grant the scheme planning commission after a local public inquiry concluded it should be denied planning consent.
Ewing said the development would have had an 鈥渦nacceptable landscape and visual impact, including on the wild land, in the Highland Council area鈥�.
He said: 鈥淭he Scottish government wants to see the right developments in the right places, and Scottish planning policy is clear that the design and location of any wind farm should reflect the scale and character of the landscape and should be considered environmentally acceptable.鈥�
Ewing said there was 鈥渆normous potential鈥� for 鈥渋nvestment across Scotland鈥� in renewable energy but that planning policy required a 鈥渂alanced approach鈥� that considered the impact on the local area.
Lizzie Foot, project manager for Glenmorie Wind Farm LLP, said she was 鈥渧ery disappointed鈥� that the opportunity to generate a 鈥渟ignificant number of jobs鈥� for firms in the area would not be realised.
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