A representative body for Scottish mountaineering enthusiasts claims a majority of its members would do not want wind farms in the mountains and that hikers may avoid areas with projects, supporting the basis for its opposition to a number of planning applications.
The Mountaineering Council of Scotland said a survey of more than 1400 members found 67% would prefer not to see wind farms during their hikes, while 22% said they avoided areas with wind farms while planning their activities.
The group recently voiced its opposition to 2020 Renewables’ proposed 50.4MW Whitelaw Brae wind farm near the border with England. The project is slated to have 14 turbines with a tip height of 133.5 metres.
Local communities stand to lose money if hikers avoiding wind farms stop spending in shops and hotels, according to the mountaineering body’s chief executive David Gibson. “A 20% reduction in hill walkers could easily make the difference between profit and loss for small enterprises in mountain areas across Scotland,” he said.
Scottish Renewables said the MCofS survey indicated that 77% of its members said wind farms have no impact on, or even encouraged, plans to visit.
“Climate change remains the greatest threat to Scotland’s environment, and the pressing need to tackle it means we must clean up our energy system as quickly as possible. Wind energy is one of the most effective, most popular and cheapest ways to do so,” it said.
The MCofS survey follows an earlier study by Biggar Economics which found that wind had little impact on Scotland’s tourism sector.
Image: SXC
