Proposed Caithness wind farm could provide vital boost to local economy

Cairnmore Hill is in an area identified by Highland Council as having ‘potential for wind farm development’¹, located northwest of Thurso the eight turbine project would be capable of generating enough clean, low cost renewable electricity for approximately 37,000 homes.

The proposed wind farm has been through several design iterations and two sets of consultation events for the local community to provide feedback. During this time RES has seen a growing level of support for the proposal, with 60% of comment forms at their recent consultation event stating that people were ‘happy’ with the updated layout.

If consented, Cairnmore Hill could deliver around £12 million in business rates to The Highland Council over its operational life, and has the potential to deliver approximately £2.2 million of economic benefit to the local area in the form of jobs, employment and use of local services.

Alan Gow, owner, Gow Groundworks commented: “As a local Caithness company, that employs over 30 people, we’ve witnessed first-hand how important wind farm projects like this are to the local economy. They provide a significant boost to local businesses, particularly during construction, and have positive knock-on effects all the way through the wider Caithness supply chain. It’s great to see a project like Cairnmore Hill going into planning as it will bring a much-needed economic boost to the area and local businesses if consented.”

Graeme Kerr, Senior Development Manager, RES added: “We’ve been really grateful for the comments and feedback received from the community during our exhibition events and it’s encouraging to see the growing support. We’ve also been working with the local supply chain in order to understand the skills and capabilities within Caithness and to maximise inward investment from the project wherever possible, should it be consented.”

New onshore wind is now the cheapest form of electricity generation, helping improve opportunities to reduce electricity bills for consumers as well as making a valuable contribution to Scotland’s energy targets and helping tackle climate change.

For further information about RES, visit www.res-group.com

ENDS

Notes to editors:

About RES

RES is the world’s largest independent renewable energy company active in onshore and offshore wind, solar, energy storage, transmission and distribution. At the forefront of the industry for over 38 years, RES has delivered more than 18GW of renewable energy projects across the globe and supports an operational asset portfolio exceeding 6GW worldwide for a large client base. Understanding the unique needs of corporate clients, RES has secured 1.5GW of power purchase agreements (PPAs) enabling access to energy at the lowest cost. RES employs more than 2,500 people and is active in 10 countries.

¹ Draft Onshore Wind Energy Supplementary Guidance, August 2016.