Frequently Asked Questions
Who is RES?
RES is a British company with headquarters in Hertfordshire. It is the world’s largest independent renewable energy company, working across 24 countries and active in wind, solar, energy storage, green hydrogen, transmission and distribution. As an industry innovator for over 40 years, RES has delivered more than 27GW of renewable energy projects across the globe and supports an operational asset portfolio exceeding 41GW worldwide for a large client base.From our Glasgow office RES has been developing, constructing and operating wind farms in Scotland since 1993. We have developed and/or built 22 wind farms in Scotland with a total generation capacity of 660MW and currently operate over 550MW of wind farms across the country.
Where will the wind farm be?
The nearest turbine of the proposed Blair Hill Wind Farm would be located approximately 2.7km1 north of Newton Stewart, Dumfries and Galloway . You can see a site location plan here.
How many wind turbines will there be?
The final design for the Blair Hill Wind Farm consists of a 14-turbine wind farm, featuring 12 turbines with a tip height of 250 metres and 2 turbines with a tip height of 210 metres.
Our final design is for 14 turbines with an overall generation capacity of 92.4MW which is enough to power around 115,0001 homes with clean, low cost electricity.
Why here?
The site was chosen because it has good wind resource, few ecological constraints, straightforward access and is close to a viable grid connection. It is also identified in the Dumfries and Galloway Council Local Development Plan as being an area with potential for wind farm development.
What stage is the project at?
RES has now submitted a Section 36 application for consent to the Scottish Government. You can view the planning application here.
What would the wind farm look like?
A Landscape and Visual Assessment (LVIA) has been undertaken for the proposed wind farm and considers any likely significant landscape and visual effects.
You can view the LVIA and see photomontages from 26 viewpoints on the planning application page here.
How will you ensure the wind farm doesn’t impact the wildlife in the area?
Extensive ecological surveys have been completed across the site for habitats, protected species and fish. The survey findings show that the habitats are a mix of areas of commercial conifer plantation and a mosaic of common upland vegetation types which are grazed by livestock, including areas of acid and marshy grasslands, bracken, wet heath and bog.
The protected species surveys indicate the presence of otter, badger, bats, reptiles and potentially pine marten at, or in close proximity to, the site.
The fisheries surveys indicated many of the suitable watercourses on and around the site contained brown trout, with one watercourse downstream having low numbers of Atlantic salmon. The design of the wind farm has included avoidance and buffering off key features. Full survey details and results are presented in the EIA Report.
Extensive ornithological surveys have also been undertaken across the site. These comprised of targeted flight activity surveys and a range of distribution and abundance surveys for breeding waders, raptors and owls, black grouse and wintering birds. The survey findings showed limited presence of breeding waders with only snipe recorded breeding in relatively low numbers.
Barn owl were identified to be nesting at one location within the site and potentially nesting at a second. Black grouse were also identified to be lekking at two locations within the survey area with one to two males present at each lek location.
The design of the wind farm has included appropriate buffers on known breeding sites for barn owl and lek sites for black grouse. Full survey details are presented in the EIA Report
We have developed plans to enhance biodiversity on the site, including measures such as peatland restoration, native broadleaf planting and bracken control for grassland restoration. You can view the Masterplan for the proposal here and read the Outline Biodiversity Enhancement Management Plan here.
What about the scheduled monuments on the site?
A Cultural Heritage Impact Assessment has been undertaken and further information can be found on the planning application page here.
As part of the development, RES is proposing to develop a signposted heritage trail and provide interpretation boards for a selection of the heritage assets on the site. You can view our more details on our Cultural Heritage Enhancement Proposal here.
Will the wind farm be noisy?
An Acoustic Impact Assessment has been undertaken for the Blair Hill proposal. Further information can be found on the planning application page here.
How will you get the turbines to the site?
Abnormal loads are expected to travel from King George V (KGV) Docks in Glasgow to the M8 Motorway (M) at Junction 25A before continuing eastbound to join the M74(M) at M74(M) Junction 1. The route then continues southbound on the M74(M)/A74 Trunk Road (T) to the Scotland / England border (approximately 140 km). At this point the A74(T) joins the M6(M) and the route continues southbound to M6(M)Junction 42 Golden Fleece Interchange.
From here, the route takes the sixth exit of the Golden Fleece Interchange, essentially turning back on itself to head northbound on the M6(M) and subsequently the A74(T) when back across the Scotland / England border. This movement is required to allow abnormal load vehicles to then exit the A74(T) at Junction 22 and travel westbound on the A75(T) at Gretna. From here the route continues westbound on the A75(T) for approximately 115 km. At this point the route joins the A712 and travels northbound for approximately 5.9 km to an access point on to private land upon which the site is located. A private access track is available via a priority junction which leads to the site.
You can view the delivery route here.
Other construction traffic (non–abnormal loads) would arrive to the Site from the A712, however may come from either a westerly or easterly direction on the A75(T).
Would the wind farm cause more flooding in the area?
Following assessment of desk-based resources, it was noted that river and surface water flooding risk is present at the River Cree tributaries located within the site (Washing Burn and Cordorcan Burn). As part of the design of the wind farm, infrastructure will be kept a minimum of 50m from watercourses, except where required for a watercourse crossing.
Any potential flood risk has been assessed as part of the application and in accordance with the scoping responses from SEPA and their Flood Risk Standing Advice.
To further reduce flood risk across the site, existing tracks will be utilised as far as practicable.
Further information can be found on the planning application page here.
Would the wind farm impact peat on site?
Peat depth surveys have been undertaken to understand peat depths and quality across the site. The surveys found that peat depth varied greatly, but in general indicated peat of less than 0.5m with some pockets of deeper peat.
The scheme has been designed to reduce infrastructure on areas of deep peat to avoid the sensitive habitats which it supports.
A Peat Management Plan accompanies the planning application and further information can be found here.
How will you ensure the wind farm doesn’t affect my private water supply?
In order to identify and protect private water supplies, hydrologists at ITPEnergised undertook consultation with Dumfries and Galloway Council, who provided the location of properties with a registered private water supply within 2km of Blair Hill along with other information they hold about the supply.
The hydrologists ground-truthed this information with site walkover surveys and follow-up with local residents where necessary, in order to ensure that people’s private water supply locations have been identified, and that our data is as robust as possible.
A Private Water Supply Risk Assessment has been undertaken and can be viewed here.
Won’t the wind farm affect tourism and recreation in the area?
During construction of any infrastructure project the developer has a responsibility to ensure that the public is kept safe from any construction activity on the site. This inevitably means that access to some parts of the wind farm site would be temporarily restricted in the interests of public safety during construction of the project, but this will be temporary in nature.
Once the wind farm is up and running, if consented, the statutory Scottish ‘right to roam’ (Land Reform [Scotland] Act 2003) will apply and the public will have full access to the site for activities like walking, cycling and horse-riding.
As part of the development, RES is proposing to develop a signposted heritage trail and provide interpretation boards for a selection of the heritage assets on the site. You can view our more details on our Cultural Heritage Enhancement Proposal here.
All research to date indicates that onshore wind development has had no adverse impact on the tourism industry in Scotland. However, an Economic and Community Impact Report is included within the application with specific regard to whether the Blair Hill project will have any effect on tourism behaviour and the tourism economy.
The BIGGAR Economics report3: Wind Farms and Tourism Trends in Scotland (2021), found that while the capacity of wind farms had more than quadrupled over the study period, employment in tourism related sectors had increased by more than 20%. It found no relationship between tourism employment and wind farm development, at the level of the Scottish economy, across local authorities nor in the locality of wind farm sites.
Could the wind farm affect the campaign to create the Galloway National Park?
We understand the importance of the campaign to create the Galloway National Park to the local community. Guidance4 published by the Scottish Government in October 2023 in relation to nominations for national park status states:
“To ensure any National Park addresses the climate emergency and supports progressive development, we will develop new bespoke planning policy on onshore wind to be applied in new National Parks. This means that a new National Park will be treated differently to existing National Parks with respect to NPF4 policy for onshore wind.”
The Blair Hill wind farm proposal would not affect the potential for the area to be designated as a National Park.
What about the health impacts?
Whilst multiple, peer reviewed and independent studies have shown there is no connection between wind turbines and negative health effects, it is still a matter we take seriously.
One of the most common concerns relates to low-frequency noise commonly known as infrasound. Low frequency noise is not audible or perceptible to humans as it occurs at similar levels to pre-existing background levels. Multiple organisations and studies from around the world, including the World Health Organisation, indicate that there is no evidence that any infrasound/low frequency noise from wind turbines directly causes health impacts or can otherwise impact on the amenity of those living or working near wind turbines.
Can wind turbines be recycled?
While about 90% of turbines are easily recyclable, turbine blades are not widely recyclable yet. The industry recognises this and extensive work is underway to establish a circular economy.
There is research underway into producing a 100% recyclable turbine blade and a recent pilot project in Northern Ireland has developed a scalable method to recycle 100% of turbine blades, ensuring that valuable resources are turned into new products that can substitute materials such as virgin plastics, steel, and concrete instead of simply going to waste.
There are also options for blade re-purposing. Blade material is incredibly strong and when in a suitable condition, it can be repurposed for new structures. This reduces landfill, retains embodied carbon in the material, reduces the need for virgin material and creates skilled jobs.
Whilst there are a finite number of other structures which could be constructed from blade material, there is also potential to refurbish blades for use as second-hand blades.
Wouldn’t manufacturing wind turbines produce more carbon emissions than they save in their lifetime?
Harnessing of wind for the generation of electricity may rely on a renewable source of energy, but it must also prove to be sustainable. A typical modern wind turbine’s carbon payback time ranges from 1 to 3 years, equating to between 1% and 4% of the wind turbine’s lifetime.
A modern wind turbine would be expected to return at least 20 times the energy invested in it as renewable electricity.
A Climate Change Assessment forms part of the EIAR and estimates the carbon payback time of Blair Hill Wind Farm is between 0.1 and 1.6 years, with an expected payback period of 0.9 years (approximately 11 months). This is the period of time for which a wind farm needs to be in operation before it has, by displacing generation from fossil-fuelled power stations, avoided as much carbon dioxide as was released in its lifecycle. For more information, see chapter 13 of the EIAR Main Report.
Do wind farms affect property values?
Queries are often raised in relation to the potential of wind farms to impact upon the value of house prices as there can be a perception that there must be a negative effect on house prices. Property value is subjective and can be affected by a range of factors. There is no firm evidence on whether UK onshore wind farms do or do not affect house prices, this is further evidenced from various studies on the same topic having starkly different results. We are aware of residents close to other renewable energy projects, who enjoy having renewable energy projects close by and believe that they add value to their community.
Why onshore wind?
We are facing a climate emergency, and at the same time seeking to enhance the security of our energy supply. Onshore wind can address both of these.
Wind energy is a free and inexhaustible resource which has an important role to play as part of a balanced energy mix. It increases energy security by reducing our reliance on imports and builds our resilience to sudden price fluctuations or the uncertainty of global markets. It can be quick to build and the carbon payback time is usually within 1-3 years.
Onshore wind, alongside other renewable technologies, are also the cheapest form of new electricity generation5.
Don’t we have enough wind farms in Scotland as a whole now?
The Scottish Government is committed to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045.
It is important to note, carbon reduction is required across all sectors, including heat, transport and industrial processes, which are currently heavily reliant on fossil fuels. It is forecast that Scotland’s peak demand for electricity will at least double within the next twenty years as a result.
This will require a substantial increase in installed capacity across all renewable technologies, including onshore wind.
There are significant grid infrastructure development plans in place that will build out throughout the second half of this decade that will allow for a far higher output of electricity generation from wind and other renewables in Scotland and reduce our reliance on expensive gas back up.
Onshore wind added £2.4 billion to Scotland’s economy in 2019 and employs over 8,700 people.
How will the local community benefit from the proposed Blair Hill Wind Farm?
RES seeks to be a power for good in the communities that neighbour its projects by working openly and constructively to ensure tangible local benefits.
The Blair Hill Wind Farm, if consented, could create a £165 million boost to the local economy. RES is committed to providing a community benefit package worth more than £23 million over the project’s operational lifetime. During the construction, the project could also deliver £17 million of inward investment in the form of jobs, employment and the use of local services, and a further £125 million of economic activity linked to operations and maintenance and through business rates paid to Dumfries and Galloway Council.
RES is keen to hear from local businesses interested in getting involved in onshore wind. Please contact us for more information.
Dumfries and Galloway is predicted to have some of the highest onshore wind workforce demands in Scotland by 20305. An important part of this workforce will include archaeologists, who are required during the development and construction phases. In response to this, RES is also proposing a package of unique skills development opportunities at Blair Hill Wind Farm.
RES is committed to engaging universities and colleges to offer field schools for archaeology students during the construction phase of the project. Archaeology field schools provide high-quality training in essential archaeological field techniques and are an important part of an archaeology degree.
To create further job opportunities for local young people, RES is also proposing to fund a work experience or apprenticeship placement within the contractor fieldwork team, allowing a local person to gain valuable experience in the archaeology sector within the context of an onshore wind farm.
Additionally, RES is exploring options to appoint and fund a Heritage Ranger to implement the above programme. They could host community archaeology days for members of the public and engage local archaeology groups in the recording of heritage assets.
As part of the development, RES is proposing to develop a signposted heritage trail and provide interpretation boards for a selection of the heritage assets on the site. You can view our more details on our Cultural Heritage Enhancement Proposal here.
A tailored community benefits package to support the local area and help to secure long-term economic, social and environmental benefits would be delivered if the project is consented. The community fund is not linked to profit but a set sum equivalent to £5,000 per MW and would be index-linked.
Some of the ideas received to date include biodiversity initiatives, a local apprenticeship scheme, home insulation grants and funding for community facilities. We welcome further ideas for local benefits and priority projects that you would like to see supported or delivered in your community from Blair Hill Wind Farm, should it receive consent.
Will you offer shared ownership?
RES is interested to understand whether there is any appetite from the community in exploring the opportunity of shared ownership in the wind farm. If shared ownership is something that interests you, we would love to hear from you. Please get in touch or come along to our public exhibitions in October. Local Energy Scotland is the independent body that manages the Scottish Government’s Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES). To find out more about the scheme visit: https://localenergy.scot/hub/shared-ownership/.
What happens next and how do I have my say?
You can view electronic copies of the application here or on the Energy Consents Unit’s (ECU) website by searching for application ECU00004878 at https://www.energyconsents.scot/ApplicationSearch.aspx.
In addition, hard copies of the documentation are available at the following locations during normal opening hours for public viewing:
- Newton Stewart Library, Church Street, Newton Stewart, DG8 6ER
- John McNeillie Library, Wigtown County Buildings, Wigtown, DG8 9jH
A statutory consultation period is being held by the ECU to enable the public, as well as key consultees, to submit formal representations on the proposals. Feedback will be assessed against the proposals and a determination made by Scottish Ministers.
You can submit a representation to the ECU in the following ways:
- Online: Accessing the Online Planning Information System, and leave a comment on application ECU00004878 at https://www.energyconsents.scot/ApplicationDetails.aspx?cr=ECU00004878
- Email: Contact the Energy Consents Unit at representations@gov.scot, quoting the reference ECU00004878 including your full name, address, and the date in your email.
- Post: Writing to Energy Consents Unit, Scottish Government, 5 Atlantic Quay, 150 Broomielaw, Glasgow G2 8LU and quoting the reference: ECU00004878, your full name, address, and the date.
1 Shortest distance between southern development boundary line and houses along the northern edge of Newton Stewart.
2 The homes figure has been calculated by taking the predicted annual electricity generation of the site (based on RES assessments Blair Hill has a predicted capacity factor of 46.3%)and dividing this by the annual average electricity figures from the DESNZ showing that the annual GB average domestic household consumption is 3,239 kWh (January 2024).
4 https://www.gov.scot/publications/new-national-parks-nominations-guidance-appraisal-framework/
5 ClimateXChange Report (2023): ‘Mapping the current and future workforce and skills requirements in Scotland’s onshore wind industry