Background
Ventient Energy is proposing to submit an application for consent to replace the existing wind turbines with more modern, higher producing machines. This may comprise 12 turbines of up to 149.5 m to tip (the “Proposed Development”). The site is located on the undulating uplands around Carn Gaibhre to the east of Beinn Ghlas summit on the Barguillean Estate near Taynuilt in the Argyll and Bute Council (A&BC) local authority area.
Ventient Energy has a strong track record in operating wind farms. They own and operate 145 onshore wind farms in Europe with a total installed capacity of over 2.8 Gigawatts (GW), of which 13 are located in Scotland with an installed capacity of 422.5 Megawatts (MW).
Each new turbine is likely to have an installed capacity of approximately 5 Megawatts (MW). The total installed capacity of the Proposed Development is expected to be greater than 50 MW. These new turbines would replace the 14 existing turbines which are 600 kilowatts (kW) each.
Site Description
The site was originally selected for a wind farm for a range of reasons which included high average wind speed and access to grid infrastructure. The site is not located within any environmental designations.
The site comprises rugged hills, scattered with small outcrops of rocks and scoured with steep sided streams. There is open moorland, predominantly upland heath and mires including bog pools on the higher ground and a mixture of rough grassland and woodland on the lower slopes. There is a combination of native deciduous woodland and commercial coniferous forestry to the southeast of the site. A habitat management area was established to the west of the existing wind turbines as part of the current operational Beinn Ghlas Wind Farm.
The existing Beinn Ghlas Wind Farm comprises 14 Bonus (B44/600) wind turbines with a tip height of approximately 54.1 m, blade length of 19.1 m and a capacity of 600 kW providing an overall capacity of 8.4 MW. Each turbine is supported on a tapered cylindrical tower approximately 35 m high and has a three bladed rotor approximately 40 m in diameter. The existing turbines currently at the site of the Proposed Development would be removed, and the site would be reinstated except where infrastructure can be used for the repowering project.
The site asset manager visits the control building on the site approximately once a week depending on requirements and weather conditions. The site is also attended by operational and maintenance technicians when required.
