Renewable energy company RES expressed its “strong disappointment” at the council’s refusal of its redesigned Cairnmore Hill Wind Farm and the decision not to take the project to the local planning committee given the important economic and environmental benefits that the project would deliver to the region. 

The five-turbine proposal, located approximately 4.5km west of Thurso, lies outwith any nature conservation, landscape or cultural heritage designations, and within an area identified by The Highland Council as having ‘potential for wind farm development’. The scheme also includes measures to enrich key habitats across the site and achieve a 16% biodiversity net gain. 

Euan Hogg, RES development project manager, explained: “We carefully considered the council’s feedback on our previous 8-turbine proposal and significantly reduced the scheme in response to this, so we’re naturally disappointed by the refusal – particularly given the importance of projects like Cairnmore Hill amidst the climate change emergency we are facing. 

“This project could deliver significant inward investment to the area in addition to playing an important part in helping meet Scotland’s net zero carbon targets. Community support for the project has also been shown with over 200 support letters submitted into planning. We will now take time to review the council’s decision and consider our options for the site.” 

James Mackay, local Forss resident living closest to the site, added: “Highland Council’s refusal doesn’t make any sense. It’s a great location for a wind farm, the wind never stops blowing. Their decision means that we’re missing out on local construction jobs and contracts as well as much-needed funding for community groups in Forss and Thurso. It would have given the area a boost, so it’s a real shame it’s not gone through.” 

If consented, the scheme was predicted to deliver around £1.4 million of inward investment in the form of jobs, employment and the use of local services as well as £8.75m in business rates to The Highland Council over the wind farm’s operational lifetime. 

RES had also committed to providing a tailored package of benefits aligned with community priorities to benefit the Caithness West and Thurso Community Council areas, with Cairnmore Hill understood to be the first wind farm in Caithness to include Thurso Community Council as a direct beneficiary. 

Cairnmore Hill would also have been capable of generating enough clean, low-cost electricity to meet the annual demand of around 28,000 homes and offsetting approximately 23,736 tonnes of carbon emissions compared to the use of fossil fuels.