Appeal Submitted for Rigghill Wind Farm
8 July 2021
ERG and Burcote Wind have today (8 July 2021), submitted an appeal for Rigghill Wind Farm to The Scottish Government’s Department for Planning and Environmental Appeals (DPEA) following the refusal of the Planning Application by North Ayrshire Council in April 2021. The appeal for the project, located in Skelmorlie, is for 10 wind turbines with a capacity of around 40MW and each having a tip height of up to 149.9metres.
A spokesperson for Rigghill Wind Farm said:
“We were extremely disappointed that North Ayrshire Council’s Planning Committee decided to refuse our application earlier this year. Our proposal has the potential to produce enough electricity annually to power the equivalent of 34,729 UK households (roughly half of all households in North Ayrshire) and bring up to £210,000 per annum into the local economy through Community Benefit Funding.
Following the Council’s determination, we have undertaken further work on site and analysed the reasons for refusal set out in the decision notice by North Ayrshire Council. We have now taken the decision to appeal Rigghill Wind Farm to the Scottish Government. We are confident in our project and believe that this appeal presents an opportunity for not only the local communities around the development who could benefit from both our Community Benefit and Community Ownership models, but also for the wider region, in particular local companies who could benefit from our unique local procurement policy.”
This project could contribute significantly in tackling the Climate Emergency formally recognised by North Ayrshire Council, the Scottish Government, the UK Government, and by countries around the world. Climate change impacts will have multi-generational consequences unless we take action now. It is estimated within the renewable energy industry that 1GW of onshore wind in Scotland would need to be deployed every year up to 2035 to meet climate change objectives. This is the equivalent of 20 Rigghill Wind Farms every year.”
The Scottish Government’s Planning and Environmental Appeals Department (DPEA) will now review the application in full and reach a determination in due course.
Rigghill Wind Farm 