	A representative of windfarm company AirTricity attended last week's East Kintyre Community Council meeting, in relation to a proposal to construct a windfarm at Cour to the north of Carradale. AirTricity currently have two windfarms in operation in Scotland and another two under contruction, with permission to build several others.
As with fishfarms, windfarms are a subject that people often have strong feelings and opinions about. Some people see them as a blot on the landscape; others a necessary solution to the problems of energy supply; some even see them as a form of sculpture. This proposal is to construct a windfarm of 13 turbines on land to the west of the B842 at Cour. Each turbine would have a maximum height (to tip) of 112 metres, around 367 ft, and generate 2.3 MW when operating. I know many feel that Kintyre already has its fair share with windfarms at Deucheran, Beinn an Tuirc, and Tangy. Of course the local community does benefit from having a windfarm on its doorstep. Many projects in and around Carradale have received funding by way of a grant from the East Kintyre Windfarm Trust, and it would be expected that any new windfarm would contribute in a similar fashion.
Likewise the company points to the use of local businesses, labour, and materials during the contruction phase of the windfarm. In this case maybe as many as 70 people although I'd be surprised if a fair proportion of these didn't come from outside the area due to their previous association with AirTricity. Following construction of the windfarm the company point to 3 full-time jobs but, again, these may well be sourced outside of Kintyre. The project is still in the early stages. An Environmental Impact Assessment is still to be completed before the planning application goes forward, and the company gives a potential start date for construction of Spring 2010.

12-02-08 Blowing in the Wind