Muir Trust warns of destruction of Scottish wild areas by wind power industry

The John Muir Trust believes

• Wild land should be conserved for nature and people for the benefit of present and future generations;


• Developments on core wild land, such as industrial-scale wind developments, are a major threat to our rapidly diminishing wild land;


• The best renewable energy options around wild land are small-scale, sensitively sited and adjacent to the communities directly benefiting from them, where the landscape impact is minimal;


• Large wind turbines, often 120 metres high (taller than the Forth Rail Bridge) grouped in clusters of up to 100, are totally unsuitable for Scotland’s finest landscapes;


• The intrusion is not just the turbines and pylons, but includes the access roads, concrete bases, and underground cables;


• Producing energy near to where it is consumed reduces the need for giant pylons through wild and scenic areas e.g. the proposed Beauly – Denny transmission upgrade;


• A recent study suggests far more eagles are at risk from wind developments than was previously thought so their habitat must be protected;


• It would be a tragedy to sacrifice wild land to major industrial developments.

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