Windfarm mast is blown down!
THE developers behind plans for a wind farm on a hill between the Dee and Don valleys have been criticised after their 60-metre high meteorological mast collapsed at the weekend.
The wind monitoring mast has been on the hill since the summer of 2007 when Cushnie Wind Energy Limited from Flintshire, Wales announced that it would be applying to Aberdeenshire Council to erect seven turbines on the Hill of Pressendye, above Tarland.
In August last year, the planning application for the wind farm was unanimously refused by Aberdeenshire Council's Marr Area Committee after objections from almost 600 people.
The mast's absence from the skyline was noticed by local residents on Sunday.
Atmos Consulting, the agents for the developers, said they were treating the mast's collapse as a "major incident" and were trying to establish the point of failure.
Members of the SToP Turbines on Pressendye group were the first to climb through the heavy snow on the hill and inspect the scene.
A spokesperson for the Tarland-based SToP group said: "Aberdeenshire Council rejected the wind farm application in the strongest possible terms and sent an outspoken message to the developers and to the Scottish Government about their intentions. Now it looks as though the elements and Pressendye in its majesty have also given the cold shoulder to Atmos and a government which wants to industrialise our hills."
He added: "Objectors were aware that as air gets colder, it packs more of a punch because it is denser than warm air. If a structure becomes loaded with ice, you have a potentially lethal combination. The same physics would apply to any turbines up there. Many people who know the area realise this.
"This is not a typical hill and it has a significance in many other ways to many people who live here or visit Deeside and Donside."
Ray King, the chairman of the Cushnie Wind Action Group that also opposes the development, agreed this was a blow for the developers who are currently appealing to the Scottish Government's Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals to overturn the decision made by the Marr Area Committee.
Mr King, a retired chartered engineer, said: "This shows the hazards of erecting a mast in an area where the weather conditions can be extreme. We have always been concerned about the safety aspect of putting turbines on the Pressendye.
"We were told that there wouldn't be any problems caused by the build up of ice but if a mast this size, which is a fairly basic piece of engineering, can't stay upright then it is clear the issue must be given further consideration.
"The other thing we have to remember is that people do go up this hill in all sorts of weather and that structure could have easily fallen on somebody."
However Atmos, the agents working on behalf of the Welsh developers, said a wind turbine positioned on the hill would not collapse under similar circumstances.
Regional director Fraser MacKenzie, said: "It is a completely different kettle of fish. The wind turbines are much more solid with bigger foundations. The met masts are temporary structures and easy to put up and take down. They can be susceptible to this."
He added: "We are going to investigate what has happened. It may have been caused by the conditions and a build up of ice or even metal fatigue. We will go up, recover the mast and establish the point of failure.
"Our first thought was to check that nobody had been injured. We contacted the police straight away and they confirmed to us that nobody was in the area when it happened. We are treating it as a major incident."
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Weather for Banchory
Tuesday 07 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -1 C to 4 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 2 C to 4 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: South
