Crosbie Wind Farm

Scotland has ambitious renewable energy targets, and onshore wind power plays a significant role in achieving these goals. Onshore wind power is among the cheapest and fastest renewable energy technologies to deploy, helping to reduce carbon emissions and dependency on fossil fuels.

Assessing the site’s suitability for an onshore wind proposal involves a series of surveys and studies to ensure that the chosen location is viable for wind energy generation. Here are some of the critical surveys and assessments typically undertaken:

• Wind Resource Assessment: This is one of the most critical surveys. Anemometers are installed at different heights to measure wind speeds and directions over an extended period (usually a year or more). This data is used to determine the long-term wind resource potential at the site.
• Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA): EIA studies assess the potential environmental impacts of the proposed wind farm. This includes studies on wildlife, ecosystems, and any potential effects on local communities. It may also involve archaeological and cultural impact assessments.
• Grid Connection Assessment: This determines the feasibility of connecting the wind farm to the local electrical grid. It includes studies on grid capacity, infrastructure upgrades, and the associated costs.
• Geotechnical Surveys: These assess the soil and foundation conditions at the site to ensure they can support the weight and vibration of wind turbine foundations.
• Topographical Surveys: These surveys create detailed maps of the site’s terrain, which is essential for designing the layout of the wind turbines and access roads.
• Noise Impact Assessment: This assesses the potential noise impact of the turbines on nearby residents. Noise studies help determine appropriate setbacks and mitigation measures.
• Visual Impact Assessment: This evaluates the visual impact of the wind turbines on the landscape and local communities. It considers factors like turbine height, colour, and placement.
• Avian and Bat Studies: These studies assess the potential impact of the wind turbines on bird and bat populations. They may involve bird migration studies and bat activity surveys.
• Shadow Flicker Assessment: This determines whether the rotating turbine blades create annoying flickering shadows for nearby residents and suggests measures to mitigate this.
• Public Consultation: Engaging with local communities and stakeholders is a crucial part of the site suitability assessment. It helps gather feedback, address concerns, and build support for the project.
• Meteorological Data Analysis: Analysing historical meteorological data for the area can provide additional insights into the wind patterns and variability at the site.
• Regulatory Compliance Assessment: Ensuring the proposed wind farm complies with all local, regional, and national regulations and permits is essential.
• The results of these surveys and assessments inform the decision-making process for an onshore wind proposal. If the site is deemed suitable, detailed design and engineering work can begin, leading to the construction and operation of the wind farm.

The west coast of Scotland experiences strong and consistent wind patterns due to its geographical location, with the Atlantic Ocean providing a continuous source of wind. This makes it an ideal location for harnessing wind energy. The local area is synonymous with carbon-neutral energy production, and we wish to continue the world renowned industry standards and traditions of sustainable energy security in this area. We will develop the proposal for the site in close consultation with the local community, and evolve the site design further to ongoing environmental and ecological studies on the site.

We will be holding an initial round of public exhibitions at the end of November 2023 so that members of the public can view and discuss our early-stage proposals. This will include Zones of Theoretical Visibility (ZTVs), mapping, photomontages as well as significant details of the project design and build. As the project evolves, we will hold more public consultation events to reflect any changes based on ongoing feedback.

Following extensive public consultation, we then take the feedback from the public and the scoping phase and present our final design to the Scottish Government’s Energy Consents Unit who will determine a decision on the application. We anticipate submitting the application around Q3 2024.

At this early stage of development, no fixed date for construction has been programmed.

A Scottish Government-commissioned research project, looking at the potential impact of wind farms on house prices found that there are no consistent negative effects on house price growth from being situated near to a wind farm. The study can be found here.

Galileo is committed to developing projects that deliver substantial and tangible benefits locally and foster strong community relations. If successful, millions of pounds will be spent locally over the project’s lifetime, in addition to creating and supporting existing jobs in areas such as construction and hospitality. For the lifetime of Crosbie Wind Farm, we will provide the local community with an investment package worth £5,000 per MW installed per year, in addition to options for the community to own a stake in the wind farm once operational.

We are fully committed to involving local communities in all stages of the project, and this includes using local suppliers during the construction and operation phases of the project. 

This will maximise opportunities for local businesses to provide goods and services. If you own or work for a local company that would like to get involved in our supply chain, please get in touch.

Discussions with network operator are at an early stage, and they will develop a proposal which will go through its own consultation/planning process as the project progresses.

We launched Crosbie Wind Farm in the local community in September 2023, which effectively began our community engagement and public consultation on the project. We are committed to informing the community of all milestones from the start until the end of site decommissioning. This will involve attending physical meetings of community councils as well as making our proposals available during public exhibitions. We have made this website user-friendly with direct contact with the project manager.

Please use the contact us facility on this website and we will answer any questions you may have.