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Posted by CITIZEN POWER ALLIANCE at 4:18 PMA potential threat to the Eskdalemuir station’s seismic detection abilities, however, are wind turbines. Whirring on the region’s moors, the large turbines send clean electricity to homes but also send vibrations into the ground.
On Friday, Carlisle Council rejected REG Windpower’s proposal for six turbines at a location about 25 miles away from the station. The Hallburn wind farm was also facing local fights over potential lost tourism revenue and noise pollution. But the matter is larger than this relatively small wind project.
The UK’s Ministry of Defence (MOD) established a noise allowance for the region, which they say has been met. According to the MOD, additional wind farms would interfere with the performance of the station’s seismological array. As of now, no turbine with a generating capacity of more than 50 kilowatts is permitted within 31 miles of Eskdalemuir. The company told The Guardian that the MoD’s objections concerning turbine vibrations were blocking as much as one gigawatt of wind generating potential.
Currently across Scotland, the onshore wind industry, according to Scottish Renewables, stands at 2,500 megawatts of installed capacity. Yet growing that capacity in this corner of the Southern Uplands isn’t entirely off the table.