Disappointment at Council's Rejection of Wind Farm Plans

[26 October 2005]

Renewable energy company GreenPower has expressed its disappointment at Perth & Kinross Council's decision to recommend rejection of its plans for a wind farm at Griffin Forest , near Aberfeldy.

The final decision will be made by the Scottish Executive next year but at a meeting of the Council's Development Control Committee last night, councillors voted to recommend refusal of the application.

Rob Forrest , Managing Director of Alloa-based GreenPower said: “We are disappointed that Perth & Kinross Council has recommended refusal of our plans for Griffin Wind Farm. We have been working closely over the last 20 months with local communities, councillors and residents to keep them informed of our plans, the benefits of our proposals, and to listen to their views.

“We have spent a lot of time ensuring our plans address every possible issue and we made a number of amendments to our original plan following feedback from various consultees. If the Scottish Executive grants consent for Griffin we will continue to consult closely with local people throughout the construction and operational phases.”

If approved, Griffin Wind Farm would generate around 204 megawatts annually at peak capacity from 200X – enough to power up to 176,000 homes and reducing carbon emissions by as much as 560,000 tonnes per year

The local community around the site would also benefit economically from £42.5m of construction costs being spent locally, £204,000 contributed annually to a community fund by GreenPower, local services and materials used where possible, and the creation of 12 full-time jobs during the wind farm's operation.

Through its unique GreenFutures initiative, GreenPower would also provide local people with the opportunity to benefit financially through co-ownership of one or more of the wind farm's turbines and sharing in the income generated.

Once fully-operational, Griffin Wind Farm will make up to 2% of the UK 's Renewables Obligation target of reducing carbon emissions by 10% by 2010 and between 17% and 20% of Scotland 's target of 40% renewable energy production by 2010.

ENDS

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