Jamie Stone tells meeting he would support a moratorium on renewable energy developments in Kyle of Sutherland area
Sutherland MP Jamie Stone has said that he would support a moratorium on further renewable energy developments in the Kyle of Sutherland area.
The Lib-Dem politician was speaking at a meeting organised by Ardgay and District Community Council at Ardgay Hall last night to discuss growing local concern about the increasing number of renewable energy developments proposed for the area.
It follows a meeting on the same issue held by campaign group No Ring of Steel (NoROS) on February 13 and attended by constituency MSP Maree Stone.
Mr Stone said: “I think we have reached a saturation point in this particular part of the Highlands, and we should stop and think about what we are doing and why we are doing it and how we are doing it.”
He revealed that he was trying to secure cross-party support from politicians north of the border for a review of planning in Scotland and an “urgent review of the overall strategy, planning, and construction of renewable energy infrastructure in Scotland”.
The meeting opened with a visual presentation by David Baker, who had plotted on Google Earth the number of existing wind farms in the area as well as those planned, approved, and in scoping.
Mr Baker said there were 20 wind farms with a total of around 300 turbines.
"We have to look at these things on an individual basis, but when you combine all of them, the picture is very different,” he said. “We need to try to educate planners to our way of thinking.”
William Lockyer followed with a presentation on battery energy storage systems, which are increasingly coming to the fore.
Acknowledging that communities feel ignored in the planning process, Mr Stone said he too had felt “powerless” when he heard that ministers had granted planning permission for the Strath Oykel Wind Farm despite widespread opposition and a recommendation from the government’s own planning inspectors that it be refused.
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He circulated copies of the letter he intends to send to UK energy secretary Ed Miliband and First Minister John Swinney.
The letter calls for a planning review in Scotland with community representation in the replanning and zoning of areas for energy infrastructure and an ‘urgent’ review of the UK strategic framework, which governs the approach to net zero.
“I have today sent it to all Scottish MPs and MSPs, asking them to sign it. We have spent a lot of time putting this letter together and thought carefully about it,” he said.
Mr Stone reiterated that he was in favour of the proposed 400kV Spittal to Beauly overhead line being underwater rather than overhead.
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And he added: “I personally believe that we should have small nuclear reactors created at Dounreay. The country will probably move there.”
Ardgay community councillor Caroline Munro asked if it was the time for some “civil disobedience to get some action" as letter writing was not working.
“If we stopped people from functioning in Edinburgh and Inverness, would they start to take a bit more notice?” she asked.
Mr Stone replied that possibly a demonstration might be the way forward or a petition, although a petition would need to have 10,000 signatures to get a response from the government and 100,000 signatures for it to trigger a debate in parliament.
Chairman Les Waugh revealed that he had contacted the producers of BBC One’s Panorama programme after watching an episode on Britain’s ‘Race to Go Green’.
“I have received a response, and perhaps they will make a programme in this area,” he said.
Mr Stone said he would return to Ardgay in a couple of months’ time to update the community on any developments.
Community council secretary Kerry Hawthorne said it was hoped to have people on hand at the Kyle of Sutherland Hub on Sunday, March 23, to give help to anyone who wanted to make a representation to a renewable energy planning application but was unsure how to go about it.
