Raera Forest Wind Farm

Project Location 

RWE npower renewables' proposal for Raera Forest, a 15 turbine, 45 MW wind farm at Kilmelford near Oban was turned down by Argyll and Bute planning committee on 14th Dec 2010.

The application for Reara Forest Wind Farm was unanimously rejected by planning committee members who cited that the impact of the proposal on visuals and landscape in the area would have been too great.

Raera Forest development manager, Karen Fox said: "We are disappointed by the planning committee’s decision. Raera Forest was chosen as a potential site because, amongst other reasons, it is out with any international or national designations. The sole reason for refusal was based on landscape and visuals however, I believe we clearly demonstrated that the design evolution fully considered the impact on landscape and was within planning policy.

“Furthermore, the Council's planning officer acknowledged that in all other respects the scheme was acceptable or could be mitigated by appropriate planning conditions."

Prior to the application being submitted in December 2009, RWE npower renewables carried out extensive environmental studies of the sites suitability for a wind farm, in addition to public consultation activities.

Karen Fox added: "We feel we have designed a wind farm that is appropriate for the area in terms of location, number and size of turbines. We do have the right to appeal this decision and are currently considering our options."

If built, the annual generation expected at Raera Forest Wind Farm would have been the equivalent to the domestic needs of up to 25,200 homes.1

_{Footnote
1The predicted annual generation at the site has been calculated using a capacity factor derived from performance data for wind farms already operating in Scotland. Should site wind and turbine characteristics result in a similar capacity factor to these operational sites we can expect Raera Wind Farm to generate an amount of electricity equivalent to supplying the approximate domestic needs of up to 25,200 average UK households each year}

_{Energy predicted to be generated by the proposal has been calculated using an assumed capacity factor of 30% (DTI Energy Trends UK regional capacity factors 1998-2004), and is based on an installed capacity of 45 MW. The energy capture predicted and hence derived homes equivalent or emissions savings figures may change as more site specific 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.}