Tibberchindy
Infinis has identified a potential wind farm site located in the vicinity of the derelict Tibberchindy farmhouse approximately 5km west of Alford, Aberdeenshire. The site is dominated by Coiliochbhar Hill that rises to an approximate elevation of 490m. The lower slopes of the site consist of pasture used by grazing cattle, while the upper slopes are a combination of dry heath moorland with an area of recently planted forestry.
The site was identified by Infinis as part of a strategic site search activity in 2008 and was considered as an excellent location for a wind farm due to its high wind speeds, lack of international or national environmental designations and distance from dwellings. However, it should be noted that the northern half of the site is within an Area of Landscape Significance, as defined within the Aberdeenshire Local Plan.
Since the initial identification of the site in 2008, Infinis has undertaken extensive ornithological and ecological surveys and installed an anemometer mast on the site in May 2011 to gather wind data. A scoping report for a nine-turbine development was submitted to Aberdeenshire Council in May 2011. Our first public exhibition was held at Alford Public Hall on the 7 and 8 of September 2011. In response to feedback from the Council and other statutory consultees, from local residents, and from ongoing site investigation, the number of turbines was then reduced from nine to six.
The six-turbine scheme was presented to the community at a second exhibition at the Grampian Transport Museum on the 1 and 2 of November 2011.
In response to public comments on the layout, we have decided to move the positions of four turbines and lower the blade tip height of three turbines, in order to reduce the visibility of the scheme from many viewpoints. The new layout can be downloaded via a link below, along with the latest newsletter.
We apologise for the delay in submission of the planning application and now hope to submit in April/May 2012. The turbine choice is not yet confirmed but the generating capacity of the wind farm is likely to be between 12MW and 18MW. It is estimated that this could generate the equivalent of the annual average electricity use of around 6,000 to 9,500 UK households, based on an average capacity factor of 26.9%*.
If you have a particular interest in the project, please email your questions or comments to tibberchindywindfarm@infinis.com. Alternatively our general contact details can be found above.
* This calculation is based on the UK average onshore wind capacity factor of 26.9% (taken from Table 7.4 in the Digest of UK Energy Statistics 2010, DUKES, 2010, for data in 2009) and an average GB household electricity consumption in 2009 of 4,423kWh (taken from the Sub-National Electricity Consumption Data 2009 published by DECC) which leads to a calculation of the equivalent electricity consumption of 6,000 (for 12MW) to 9,500 (for 18MW) households (rounded down to the nearest 500 households). It should be noted that the equivalent household electricity consumption calculated will vary depending on site wind speeds and actual household electricity consumption. Download the Digest of UK Energy Statistics 2010 - PDF 6.8MB.
Document Downloads
