GLENLORA WIND TURBINE - Renfrewshire Council

© Green Cat Renewables Ltd
GLENLORA WIND TURBINE
borrow pit and construction of access roads should be appraised as part of the overall
impact of the scheme including impact on water and groundwater”.
This NTS summarises the findings of the environmental studies that were undertaken
to assess these potential effects.
3.1 Climate Change
There are two distinct aspects of wind turbine development that could have an
impact on climate change:
• Wind turbine manufacture, construction and decommissioning; and
• Wind turbine operation.
The wind turbine construction and decommissioning phases will lead to the emission
of greenhouse gases, while the operation phase will offset greenhouse gases that
would be emitted by generating the equivalent amount of energy via a conventional
energy source. Thus, in assessing the overall impact of the project on climate
change, the full lifecycle of the wind turbine are considered.
Using guidelines from SNH, the climate change study for the proposed wind turbine
concluded that the development would pay back CO2 in 2.6 months. The project will
displace, year on year, CO2 produced through the UK generation mix and will provide
a positive energy payback after life cycle considerations have been taken into
account. Therefore, the turbine would have an overall positive effect in reducing UK
greenhouse gas emissions.
3.2 Local Economic Effect
Every wind turbine in a rural area contributes to the farming economy with the
provision of additional income and diversification of the rural economy. However, a
project like this where the rural business (private estate) is the developer rather than
simply a landlord, is an even greater benefit to the local economy.
The wind turbine will provide an additional income stream for Glenlora Estate which
will help offset fluctuations in the substantial energy costs incurred in the day to day
running of the estate and also reduce the carbon footprint, thus improving the long
term viability of a private estate which dates back to the 1900’s and securing jobs.
The construction of the proposal would represent a moderate investment in the
local area. The installed cost of a wind turbine of the capacity proposed is
approximately £1,500,000. Of this sum, about 20% £300,000 would typically be
spent in the locality of the project, with a range of contracts being placed with
electrical and civil engineering companies to fencers and hoteliers.
Once the wind turbine starts to supply electricity into the local electricity network,
the landowner/developer directly involved in the project would benefit from
reduced electricity bills and income from electricity sales payments, thus presenting
Page 15 of 25
Z:\projects\C0111-080 Glenlora\Planning\NTS\Glenlora NTS.doc