Quanterness is approximately 2.9km north-west of Orkney’s capital, Kirkwall, located on the main road from Kirkwall to Stromness (A965). Due to its proximity to Kirkwall and Hatston Pier, the Quanterness site has practical advantages and will likely be the first site to be developed.
The Quanterness project consists of six wind turbines of up to a maximum of 149.9 m height from ground to blade tip when vertical with 28.8MW capacity.
There would be a number of additional elements to the site, including a temporary construction compound, permanent hardstandings adjacent to the wind turbines for maintenance and decommissioning cranes, temporary laydown areas adjacent to the wind turbines, external transformers, internal access tracks, underground cables between turbines, an on-site substation and maintenance building and a permanent meteorological monitoring mast.
Access to the site would be directly from the A965 on the site’s southern boundary, via a new junction designed to meet relevant safety standards. The site has practical advantages and requires less survey work than other sites because it is the least ecologically sensitive.
Key facts:
- The site extends to approximately 172.27 hectares (ha) and is centred on British National Grid (BNG) 341650, 1013600. It comprises pasture farmland, used for both livestock and crops and is divided into large regular fields, with a network of tracks. The site is generally flat, with Wideford Hill rising steeply to the south of the site.
- There are no substantial watercourses onsite, although there are several field drains and several small ephemeral waterbodies in the site which are rain-water fed hollows.
- There are no residential properties within the site boundary. The closest residential properties are Quanterness Farm Cottages (132 m south of the site boundary), Quanterness Farm (370 m south of the site boundary), Harwood (433 m south of the site boundary) and Rennibister (1052 m west of the site boundary).
Planning permission for the project was submitted to the local planning authority in January 2020 and subsequently called in by the Scottish Government on our request. Planning consent was granted for the Quanterness wind farm in December 2021.
Challenges & Mitigations
To reduce potential impacts that may arise from the developments, measures will be put in place to mitigate challenges that have been identified through surveys and the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). The table below summarises some of the proposed challenges and mitigations that may arise throughout the construction and operational phases of the project:
[table id=1 /]Relevant publications for the Quanterness Community Wind Farm can be found here.
