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Linklater’s Scotland: windmills in the Highlands
Magnus Linklater
Columnist, Scotland on Sunday
This article,
which was originally published in the Spectrum section of
Scotland on Sunday on 26th June 2005, is reproduced on Land-Care
with the kind permission of the author and the newspaper
Filed 30 Jun 05
©Magnus Linklater
THE wind-farm debate divides
Scotland down the middle. It is the biggest and most far-reaching
development to have enveloped the countryside for 60 years, outstripping
even the massive post-war hydro schemes that altered the glens and
changed the course of Highland rivers. It could, in the view of
Alex Salmond, transform Scotland into the wind capital of Europe,
supplying a quarter of its alternative energy. On the other hand,
say its critics, if pushed to the limit, wind farms would blanket
the most beautiful and unspoilt parts of Scotland with massive turbines,
disrupting the ecology and ruining the tourist industry. There is,
between supporters and opponents, very little meeting of minds.
Nowhere is the debate fiercer than high in the
Monadhliath mountains of Inverness-shire, one of the last truly
unspoilt wilderness areas of Scotland. Breathtaking in their stark,
massive beauty, these hills stretch from Loch Ness, in the north,
south to Dalwhinnie, and west to Spean Bridge, feeding two great
rivers, the Findhorn and the Spey.
Trace this deserted area on the map, and you will
come across two lodges. One is Coignafearn, nestling in a magical
glen on the high waters of the Findhorn, looking east to the Cairngorm
national park. The lodge and its estate are owned by Sigrid Rausing,
the Swedish-born daughter of Hans Rausing, whose immense wealth
is derived from the Tetrapak manufacturing empire. Her philosophy
is a simple one. “You become rich at the moment you put the
money to good use,” she once said, and the project she has
invested in here is the regeneration of Coignafearn after years
of neglect.
She risked controversy by culling the herds of
red deer that prevent the growth of trees and heather, has begun
planting native trees, has rebuilt three eagles’ nests, and
encourages a habitat for ospreys, eagles, plovers and peregrine
falcon. Unlike many landowners, she positively encourages ramblers
and birdwatchers.
Over the ridge, to the north-west, is Dunmaglass
Lodge, looking out over Inverness and the Black Isle. This is the
Scottish base of another wealthy landowner. Jack Hayward, now 82,
is chairman of the Grand Bahama Development Company. He earned the
nickname Union Jack because of his passion for all things British.
His Who’s Who entry describes his recreations as “preserving
the British landscape, keeping all things bright, beautiful and
British”. He is also passionate about wind farms. “I love
windmills,” he told me. “I love the idea of electricity
made from natural air without pollution.”
He has therefore contracted to have 36 turbines,
each up to 110m high, from base to blade tip, strung along the watershed
that divides Dunmaglass from Coignafearn. A planning application
has gone to the Scottish Executive, and a decision is expected later
this year. The turbines will march across the open hills that Rausing
so adores. She is appalled at the prospect. As I walk with her up
towards the tops, with her two dogs racing ahead and a few grouse
whirring off the heather, she explains her objections. “We,
and most of the local community, are horrified that our neighbours
at Dunmaglass may jeopardise the wilderness of the Monadhliaths
with this industrial development,” she says.
“We have to weigh up what we gain with this
particular development with what we lose: the loss of wilderness
to the gain of a small reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. In
20 years’ time the landscape of Scotland, already so scarred
by ancient exploitations, will be littered with obsolete wind turbines.
It will cost a fortune to remove them. Many of the energy companies
that set them up will have gone bankrupt by then, and the turbines,
tatty monuments to another era, will remain. Removing them will
mean immense scars that will not heal for hundreds of years. This
is a landscape of immensely slow time.”
Both Scottish Natural Heritage and the Royal Society
for the Protection of Birds have entered objections, on the grounds
that the turbine blades might endanger bird life - although the
scientific evidence for this is patchy. Both bodies express concern
over the deep foundations that would have to be dug into the peat,
the tracks that would crisscross the hill, the cables and pylons
that would be needed to transfer the power into the national grid,
and the resulting impact on wildlife.
Most local people have come out against the development.
Sandy Dey, the head stalker, and his wife Sophie are among those
who oppose it, believing it will undermine the sporting potential
of the estate as well as its natural beauty. Angus Mackenzie, the
factor, and two neighbouring estate owners have pledged to fight
to prevent it happening. “I am horrified at the plan,”
says Mackenzie.
There is, however, another ingredient in this
battle of the titans - and, not surprisingly, it is money. Rausing
has estimated that Hayward stands to make a profit of some £7
million from the development, while the contracting company, Renewable
Energy Systems, would make many times this amount. “Why does
he need the money?” she asks. “He has more than enough
to run his estate.”
Behind the scenes there were secret negotiations
between the representatives of both sides, with one suggestion being
made that Rausing might consider “buying off” Hayward’s
development for a suitable figure - a proposal she has angrily rejected.
“My objection is not to wind power itself,” she says,
“There is a place for wind farms on an industrial scale if
they are placed in landscapes designated for industrial development.
If this was a private company in Brazil cutting down a square mile
of rainforest, there would be an international outcry. But this
is Scotland, and because these estates are privately owned, and
because politicians have set green-energy targets, there is no outcry.”
Far away, in the Bahamas, Hayward remains unmoved.
“Well, to my mind this is just ‘nimbyitis’ - not
in my back yard,” he tells me. “If Sigrid says it’s
so remote, then what’s the problem? The only people who will
see [the turbines] are the very few people who tramp over the bog.
Sigrid should realise those pylons are only going to be there for
25 years, then they have to be removed and the place returned to
pristine condition - the company’s under a bond to do so. I’m
82, and believe me, 25 years go very quickly.”
He says the money will go towards maintaining
the estate for his children and grandchildren. “I won’t
be around for much longer,” he says cheerfully, “but the
family will, and I want to ensure it’s there for them long
after those pylons have been pulled down.”
But if his interest is in “preserving the British landscape”,
why does he want turbines all over it? “Because I believe in
them,” he says firmly. “If we don’t do something
about alternative energy supplies, Europe will splutter and cough
and eventually die. Besides, I don’t think they’re ugly.
I think they’re beautiful things.”
And so, high in the Monadhliaths, there is a head-on
collision between two ideologies - the brisk practicality of Hayward
and the passionate devotion of Rausing. She freely confesses to
a spiritual bond with a landscape in which her heart and soul are
now rooted, but she insists that this goes far beyond the personal.
“This is not just my back yard,” she says, “it belongs
to the Highlands and to Scotland.
“I don’t suppose anybody who approves
of subsidising green energy really thought about what would happen
when private companies and landowners started to exploit all the
possibilities of it. This land now urgently needs to be protected:
not just Dunmaglass, but also the Cairngorm national park and all
the estates that run in a chain southwards, where a giant network
of pylons is planned to take all the new electricity southwards.
A great loss for a very little gain.”
To which Sir Jack responds, “Give Sigrid
my love. And tell her that it’s not for ever.”
©Magnus Linklater
References
This article:
http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/spectrum.cfm?id=698482005
Earlier articles in the series
 1.
Linklater, Magnus (2005). Linklater's Scotland. Scotland on Sunday
20th March 2005
See SOCIAL/ECONOMIC/POLITICAL Homepage, filed 24 Mar 05,
www.land-care.org.uk Click
Here to View
2.
Linklater, Magnus (2005). Linklater's Scotland - Easter in Easterhouse.
Scotland on Sunday 27th March 2005
See SOCIAL/ECONOMIC/POLITICAL Homepage, filed 31 Mar 05,
www.land-care.org.uk Click
Here to View
3.
Linklater, Magnus (2005). Linklater's
Scotland - Farming. Scotland on Sunday 3rd April 2005
See SOCIAL/ECONOMIC/POLITICAL Homepage, filed 07 Apr 0505,
www.land-care.org.uk Click
Here to View
4.
Linklater, Magnus (2005). Linklater's
Scotland - Pitlochry. Scotland on Sunday 10th April 2005
See SOCIAL/ECONOMIC/POLITICAL Homepage, filed 15 Apr 05,
www.land-care.org.uk Click
Here to View
5.
Linklater, Magnus (2005). Linklater's
Scotland - Supermarkets. Scotland on Sunday 17th April 2005
See SOCIAL/ECONOMIC/POLITICAL Homepage, filed 19 Apr 05,
www.land-care.org.uk Click
Here to View
6.
Linklater, Magnus (2005). Linklater's Scotland - Kelvingrove. Scotland
on Sunday 24th April 2005
See SOCIAL/ECONOMIC/POLITICAL Homepage, filed 29 Apr 05,
www.land-care.org.uk Click
Here to View
7.
Linklater, Magnus (2005). Linklater's Scotland - Scottish regiments.
Scotland on Sunday 1st May 2005
See SOCIAL/ECONOMIC/POLITICAL Homepage, filed 05 May 05,
www.land-care.org.uk Click
Here to View
8.
Linklater, Magnus (2005). Linklater's Scotland - Pete Irvine, impresario.
Scotland on Sunday 8th May 2005
See SOCIAL/ECONOMIC/POLITICAL Homepage, filed 13 May 05,
www.land-care.org.uk Click
Here to View
9.
Linklater, Magnus (2005). Linklater's Scotland - once a nation of
adventurous entrepreneurs. Scotland on Sunday 15th May 2005
See SOCIAL/ECONOMIC/POLITICAL Homepage, filed 16 May 05,
www.land-care.org.uk Click
Here to VIEW
10.
Linklater, Magnus (2005). Linklater's Scotland - the heroism of
John Moffat. Scotland on Sunday 22nd May 2005
See SOCIAL/ECONOMIC/POLITICAL Homepage,
filed 24 May 05, www.land-care.org.uk Click
Here to View
11.
Linklater, Magnus (2005). Edinburgh pronounced World City of Literature.
See SOCIAL/ECONOMIC/POLITICAL Homepage,
filed 04 June 05, www.land-care.org.uk Click
Here to View
12.
Linklater, Magnus (2005). Scotland's fish-farms.
See SOCIAL/ECONOMIC/POLITICAL Homepage,
filed 10 June 05, www.land-care.org.uk Click
Here to View
13.
Linklater, Magnus (2005). Scotland's budding tennis talent.
See SOCIAL/ECONOMIC/POLITICAL Homepage,
filed 16 June 05, www.land-care.org.uk Click
Here to View
14.
Linklater, Magnus (2005). G8 summit at Gleneagles.
See SOCIAL/ECONOMIC/POLITICAL Homepage,
filed 24June 05, www.land-care.org.uk Click
Here to View
Finis
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