Novar Wind Farm extension

Location Map The existing Novar Wind Farm is located on the hills of the Novar Estate in Ross-shire, north of Inverness and was developed and is operated by RWE npower renewables. The wind farm covers an area of 300 hectares but the turbines themselves only take up 1% of that land. It is located at an altitude of about 600 metres above sea level and its immediate environment consists of moorland used for light grazing and the support of game at very low intensity.

For further information on the existing Novar Wind Farm please click on the 'Existing Novar Wind Farm' option on the menu bar to the left.

A planning application to extend the existing Novar Wind Farm was submitted to Highland Council in May 2003 . After more than two years in the planning process, Ross & Cromarty Planning Committee approved the proposal for planning permission at a special meeting on 20th June 2005.

The proposed extension comprises sixteen turbines that will be larger and capable of generating substantially more electricity than the turbines already operating at the existing site. The 2.3 megawatts (MW) turbines will have a combined generating capcity of up to 36.8MW – producing enough green electricity to meet the average demands of 15,500 homesFN1 (averaged out across the year and taking into account times of low wind speed).

The site benefits from a number of features that make it an excellent location for a wind farm extension, including:

• It is outside International, National and Local designations for landscape and ecology.
• It has high wind speeds ensuring high productivity and high electrical output.
• It is a good distance from existing properties.
• It has excellent road and site access - an important consideration during the construction period

RWE npower renewables commissioned a number of independent consultants to carry out an Environmental Impact Assessment of the wind farm proposal. This formed the basis of the planning application. For further information on these studies click on the "Environmental Impact Assessment" option on the menu bar to the left.

Footnote
Energy predicted to be generated by the proposal is derived using wind speeds monitored in the local area and applying trends from npower renewables' existing wind farm portfolio located across the UK. This enables a calculation to be made to estimate the average annual energy production based on 16 turbines each of rated capacity 2.3 MW. The energy capture predicted and hence derived homes equivalent or emissions savings figures may change as further information is gathered.
Equivalent homes supplied is based on an annual electricity consumption per home of 4700 kWh. This figure is supported by recent domestic electricity consumption data available from The Digest of UK Energy Statistics and household estimates and projections from the UK Statistics Authority.