AOC co-hosts successful windfarm seminar in Edinburgh
The new Scottish Government’s 2020 renewable electricity target has been raised to 100%, and First Minister Alex Salmond has pledged to move “still faster and further” to secure Scotland’s place as the green energy powerhouse of Europe.
These are lofty ambitions, and Scotland clearly has the potential to lead the world in onshore wind farm development, but how is the sector currently faring and what planning and heritage challenges and opportunities does it face on the road to achieve these targets?
Dr Andy Heald, AOC Archaeology speaking at the seminar
On Wednesday 29th June AOC Archaeology, one of the UK’s leading archaeological and cultural heritage consulting firms, Orbit Communications and KCC Consulting, planning consultants, hosted a seminar to highlight latest developments in the sector in Scotland and their impact on the planning and heritage environment for onshore wind farm developments. The conference brought together 50 representatives from leading wind farm developers, turbine manufacturers, lawyers and planning consultants from across Scotland and beyond.
During the day, which was chaired by journalist and commentator, David Lee, the audience heard from a number of key names associated with wind farm development, including representatives from the Scottish Government; Rosie Vetter, planning and policy manager for onshore wind at Scottish Renewables, who outlined the current situation and developments in the renewable energy sector; John Barber and Andy Heald of AOC Archaeology, who highlighted the effect of heritage legislation on wind farm development as also discussed mitigation of impacts to the historic environment; and Alex Orr and Alan Farningham of Orbit Communications and KCC Consulting respectively, who highlighted good practice in community engagement and outlined the pitfalls that developers should look out for when dealing with communities and other stakeholders during the planning process. The conference heard that, with technologies such as offshore wind and tidal energy still in their infancy, the bulk of Scotland’s power was still likely to come from onshore wind.
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