Wind farm developer seeks feedback on Aberdeenshire scheme

RES has announced public exhibition events to consult on its 17-turbine Hill of Fare Wind Farm proposal near Banchory.

The events, which will take place across four different Community Council areas in October, will give people the opportunity to learn more about the project and discuss any questions they may have with RES.

Gavin Shirley, Development Project Manager at RES, explained: “We’re keen to engage with the community at an early stage so that people’s feedback can be considered in relation to the design work that we will be undertaking over the coming months.

“There will be a range of information at the exhibitions, including visualisations to help give an impression of what the proposed wind farm may look like from viewpoints in the local area, and the opportunity to discuss the proposal with members of our project team.

“In addition to people’s comments on the proposal itself, we would also like to understand how the wind farm could support local priorities through the delivery of a tailored community benefits package. RES has developed a unique Local Electricity Discount Scheme which has benefited other communities around our wind farms in the past and we’re keen to learn if this is also of interest at Hill of Fare or whether the community has other ideas to help secure long-term economic, social and environmental benefits.”

The proposal, which lies approximately 6km north of Banchory, first became public in August this year when RES submitted a Scoping Report to the Scottish Government’s Energy Consents Unit seeking feedback from key consultees on the proposed scope of environmental work.

If consented, the scheme would be capable of generating enough clean, low-cost electricity to meet the annual demand of around 90,000 homes and is predicted to deliver approximately £4.7 million of inward investment into the area in the form of jobs, employment, and the use of local services. It will also provide a tailored package of benefits aligned with community priorities to help deliver local projects that will secure long-term economic, social and environmental benefits.

Onshore wind, together with large scale solar, is the cheapest form of electricity generation. It also increases energy security by reducing reliance on imports. With the current cost of living crisis and climate change emergency, projects like Hill of Fare are crucial to help support the transition to a zero-carbon future.

In Scotland, RES has developed/or constructed 21 wind farms with a total generation capacity of 597MW. The Scottish Government has set a legally binding target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2045 and onshore wind projects like Hill of Fare will play an important role in helping to achieve these targets.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

About RES

RES is the world’s largest independent renewable energy company and is active in onshore and offshore wind, solar, energy storage, green hydrogen, transmission and distribution. As an industry innovator for over 40 years, RES has delivered more than 23GW of renewable energy projects across the globe and supports an operational asset portfolio exceeding 9GW worldwide for a large client base. Understanding the unique needs of corporate clients, RES has secured over 1.5GW of corporate power purchase agreements (PPAs) enabling access to energy at the lowest cost. RES employs over 2,500 passionate people and is active in 11 countries. Visit www.res-group.com

Hill of Fare exhibition events

Details of the exhibition events are as follows:

Tuesday 11^th October

• Crathes Village Hall, Crathes, Banchory, AB31 5JN from 11am-2pm
• Echt Hall, B977, Echt, Westhill, AB32 6UL from 5pm-8pm

Wednesday 12^th October

• Midmar Hall, Midmar, Inverurie, AB51 7NE from 11am-2pm
• Learney Hall, 9 Beltie Road, Torphins, Banchory, AB31 4JT from 5pm-8pm

Anyone wishing to provide feedback to RES on the final design can do this by filling out a ‘comments form’ at the exhibition events or online from the project website at www.hilloffare-windfarm.co.uk from Tuesday 11 October when copies of the exhibition information will be available on the project website for people to view. The closing date for comments is Friday 11 November 2022.

Comments to RES at this time are not representations to the determining authority (The Scottish Government’s Energy Consents Unit). There will be an opportunity to submit representations to the determining authority should an application be submitted.

CONTACT FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

Callum Whiteford

RES Press Office

+44 141 404 5560

+44 7500 937 925

[email protected]