Banffshire wind farm could inject £18.4m into local area

Vattenfall has submitted a planning application to Scottish Ministers for its redesigned 16-turbine Aultmore Wind Farm proposal.

The scheme, which lies approximately 6km north of Keith and 7km south of Buckie, almost quadruples the generation capacity of the previously consented 13-turbine Aultmore Wind Farm and would be capable of generating enough fossil free electricity annually for 117,000 homes compared to the original scheme’s 22,000 homes.

If consented, the project would also deliver a community benefit fund of around £528,000 each year or a total of £18.4 million over the scheme’s 35-year operational life cycle – in addition to over £1.3 million in business rates to Moray Council each year. Vattenfall also has a strong track record of maximising inward investment opportunities around its projects and the scheme is expected to provide opportunities for the local supply chain as well as apprenticeships for the young workforce.

The project would also offset more than 177,000 tonnes of carbon emissions each year and achieve carbon payback in just over a year. A peat management plan to restore areas of degraded peat as well as a strategy to enhance biodiversity on site delivers further environmental benefits.

Care has also been taken to design the scheme in a manner which safeguards private water supplies, protects wildlife and habitats on site, and minimises construction traffic impact.

Lucy Blake, Vattenfall’s Project Manager for Aultmore Wind Farm, said:
“Turbine technology has advanced considerably since the original Aultmore scheme was consented, with more powerful turbines becoming available. Given the climate emergency that we’re all facing, it makes absolute sense to maximise the site’s contribution to Scotland’s net zero targets and the UK’s COP28 pledge to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030.

“We’ve consulted extensively with the community, having held seven public consultation events during the scheme’s design phase, and widely communicated the project in order to raise awareness and encourage engagement. We are grateful to everyone who has taken the time to share their views with us and their feedback, together with the findings from our site surveys and key consultee feedback, has helped to shape the design."

Michelle Good, Community Development Officer for Portgordon Community Trust, commented:
"As a local anchor organisation, we have been really impressed with Vattenfall’s approach to engagement and consultation for their proposed redesign of Aultmore Wind Farm. From their initial introduction to us, and asking for support to connect with others in the wider community, they really took time to get to know us and ingratiate themselves as an organisation that wanted to go the extra mile to engage constructively with the community and take feedback on board.

“As well as one to one visits and informal catch-ups, they’ve held informative consultation events as well as an interactive community benefit workshop, to understand community views and needs, that brought communities and diverse groups together in a really energising way. What was also apparent, was their commitment to listen and respond without prejudice to community feedback, whether positive or negative.

“During this engagement process, Vattenfall genuinely seem to aspire to be a ‘good neighbour’ and to make this project work for our community as much as possible. It’s clear that this wind farm could deliver benefit to the local area, and if consented, not only would it help power us towards a greener future but also generate a much-needed economic boost for the local area."

The planning submission and associated documentation can be viewed and downloaded from the project website here as well as from the ECU’s planning portal here. Hard copies are also being made available by Vattenfall in the local area for public viewing.

The proposal will be determined by the Scottish Government rather than Moray Council due to the installed capacity being greater than 50MW. A statutory consultation period will be advertised shortly by the Scottish Government to enable the public, as well as statutory consultees, to submit representations on the proposal. A determination will then be made by Scottish Ministers once comments have been assessed against the proposal.