Proposed offshore wind farm sites in Scotland

[Telo]

According to a BBC report, Scottish Enterprise has identified these sites for potential offshore wind farm development;

• Leith
  Dundee
  Nigg
  Energy Park Fife at Methil
  Hunterston
  Aberdeen
  Arnish
  Campbeltown/Machrihanish
  Ardesier
  Kishorn
  Peterhead

While there may be dispute about whether or not they are needed, or damage to scenic amenity, or whether it's the right technology etc, I cannot see the proposed sites being terribly problematic from a sailing point of view.

No doubt I shall be corrected...

[Gordonmc]

The only one what jumps off the page is Hunterston.
Conceivably the others have areas of open water away from main sea-routes. Hunterston, however is confined by the Cumbraes and if the area in question is outside the Largs channel then there will be problems with large vessels (not to mention Faslane and Coulport's finest) using the Kilchattan channel.
I hope its not on the list simply because of available interconnector access.

[Telo]

The article is not very clear, but, looking at the Scottish Enterprise report, it appears that the named places are being suggested as possible development sites for integrated manufacturing and construction of offshore wind equipment. As I recall, Hunterston (at least part of the site), had been earmarked for "clean" coal and biomass power generation (and possible carbon capture and storage?), although I don't know whether that was ever given planning permission.

[Rowana]

My own view is that the technology is flawed, but nobody is going to listen to me!

Having said that, it looks we are going to be lumbered with the feckin' things come hell or high water, so we'll just have to make the best of it.

Peterhead and Aberdeen seem reasonable suggestions, as the infrastructure to support the North Sea Oil industry is already in place. The oil sector will start to run down soon, and already there is talk of a decommissioning industry to recycle all the equipment from the oil platforms. The engineering expertiese to build offshore structures is already here, so I suppose it makes sense to utilise that to build wind turbines.

It still doesn't change my view that this is flawed technology however, and if the climate change "experts" are to be believed, we are in for much wetter weather. Personally, I think hydro is the way to go for renewable sources. After all, I've NEVER seen the Dee/Don/Deveron/Spey Etc. dry up yet, but there have been many days that the wind hasn't been enough to ruffle my curls! Not that I've got any left!

[Nick]

.
I can't believe that Hunterston is really a site for 'offshore' turbines . . . but most of the others make sense.

There are plans afoot to build at least a couple of sizeable new hydro pump storage schemes, which is a way of storing wind energy and releasing it to the grid when needed, so maybe the powers that be aren't completely daft.

(An unlikely hypothesis I know )

[Alan_D]

Read it again.

These aren't proposed wind-farm sites but places to manufacture the turbines etc.