An application under Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 for a wind farm and battery storage facility on land adjacent to the former Greenburn open cast coal mine near New Cumnock, East Ayrshire, has been lodged by REG Greenburn Limited.
The Section 36 application was submitted on 31 March 2020, following an 18-month long public consultation process that included a series of exhibitions in Cumnock, New Cumnock, Auchinleck and Ochiltree and meetings with community councils, community development trusts, local businesses and residents. REG Greenburn Limited also consulted with all statutory bodies including Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and Scottish Forestry.
The current restrictions in place relating to the Covid-19 pandemic, prevent the public inspection of hard copies of the Section 36 application, the plan showing the land to which it relates and the accompanying Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report, which would normally be available at the New Cumnock library and East Ayrshire Council offices in Kilmarnock. Therefore, as an interim measure, REG Greenburn Limited has sent a digital copy of the full application submission to all community councils neighbouring the proposed Greenburn Wind Farm. Hard copies of the Non-Technical Summary will be sent to all community councils in the area and a hard copy of the visualisations will be sent to the ‘9CCG’ group, as soon as restrictions are lifted and large items can be packaged and posted more easily.
The Section 36 application and all associated documents are available to be viewed or downloaded from the Documents page of this website.
Key Facts
Number of turbines: 16 turbines (NB: reduced by 4 turbines as a result of the consultation and EIA design process, compared to the original proposals).
Size of turbines: A maximum tip height of 149.9m
Battery Storage: Plans to co-locate battery storage with the wind farm to maximise the use of the grid connection
Lifespan: 35 years of operation
Current land use: The western part of the Site covers Carsgailoch Hill in the north and Black Hill in the south. The land cover of this area is commercial forestry, dissected by access tracks. The eastern part of the Site covers Carnivan Hill where the land cover is open grass moorland.
Grid connection: Underground cables to a new substation, on site. The connection of the proposal to the National Grid will be subject to a separate application.
The Section 36 application public consultation period is now open.
Any representations to the application may be submitted via the Energy Consents Unit website at www.energyconsents.scot/Register.aspx; by email to the Scottish Government, Energy Consents Unit mailbox at representations@gov.scot; or by post to the Scottish Government, Energy Consents Unit, 4th Floor, 5 Atlantic Quay, 150 Broomielaw, Glasgow, G2 8LU, using reference ECU00002037 and specifying the grounds for representation. Please note that during Covid-19 restrictions there will be a delay in receiving representations by post.