In a new twist to the ongoing Hunterston turbine saga, SSE have put in an appeal to the Scottish Government, although North Ayrshire planning committee have yet to come up with a final decision on the development.
The company has submitted a planning appeal to ministers following the decision of North Ayrshire Council to repeatedly delay a decision on a two year time extension for the Hunterston test facility.
With the Hunterston site’s current planning application due to expire in October 2017 the decision to appeal this was necessary to offer the site an opportunity to complete its instrumental work in the offshore wind industry. The planning decision was deferred until September to obtain noise monitoring reports.
As the only functioning onshore wind test facility for offshore wind turbines in the UK Hunterston has helped put North Ayrshire and Scotland in a strong position to benefit economically from the technology as the sector develops, SSE report.
To date the site has generated a total of £4.1million GVA (gross value added) for North Ayrshire and £32.4million GVA for the Scottish economy.
Following their application submission in January, SSE say they have ‘worked diligently and engaged in dialogue’ with council officials, statutory consultees and local residents.