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06 November 2012

Another Scottish ridgeline trashed

Beinneun wind farm was approved yesterday by Scottish Energy & Tourism Minister, Fergus Ewing. LINK

Beinneun is a 25 x 132m turbine wind farm and will sit westwards of the existing 21 turbine Millennium wind farm, thus creating a wind farm over 6 miles long above Loch Garry in the Western Highlands of Scotland.

Beinneun Wind  farm

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Here it is in greater detail:

Beinneun Wind Farm II

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TGO Challengers may wish to know that this new huge wind farm is just to the north east of the Tomdoun Hotel, and bites deeply into the Western Highlands. It will be massively visible for miles around.

I would stress that Fergus Ewing, the Energy Minister who approved this is the same chap as the Fergus Ewing who is Minister for Tourism. It beggars belief that VisitScotland (that comes under Ewing’s control) now agree that wind farms are bad for Scottish tourism and yet Ewing still rams more wind farms into the Highlands of Scotland. It’s a complete stitch-up.

35 comments:

  1. Bibliograpghy of Fergus Ewing
    A former member of the Lomond Mountain Rescue Team, Mr Ewing has climbed around two thirds of Scotland's Munroes. He was also a keen runner and has taken part in several marathons, including New York. He enjoys listening to jazz and playing the piano in his spare time. ???? Lost for words???

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    1. Aye, John, the same. Incredible, isn't it?

      Of course it's no coincidence that the SNP government has combined the two roles of Energy and Tourism.

      Can you imagine the fights in cabinet if the two roles were separate? No wind farms would ever be built.

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    2. I have long campaigned against the Minister for Energy being the Minister for Tourism which seems a conflict of interest of the worst kind. I think in doing that any credibility that the Scottish Government may have had was lost. A bigger fool than Salmond cannot be imagined as two ministers fighting for each interest, win or lose, would have shown a form of transparency that is not there in the status quo.

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    3. Salmond doesn't give a stuff about transparency. He demands wind powered electricity, funded by the UK taxpayer, so it can be exported to England. All he cares about is stuffing the "Lord Snootys" and increasing his own profile.

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  2. Obviously, Alan, the idea is for the Minister of Tourism to organise trips for tourists to see the wonderful wind turbines - asthetic wonders.

    When is this Country going to wake up and realise that this is a passing phase - nonsense that future generations will have to clear up??

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    1. The sad reality is that down at Westminster there is a real "power struggle" (excuse the pun) going on over wind farms.

      Whereas in Scotland Salmond and his cronies are ploughing along at full steam, ripping up the wild land, just so Scotland can export electricity to England.

      It's, not to put too fine a point on it, fucking criminal.

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  3. Shocking. And quite frankly un-effin'-believable. Truly disgusting. I'm lost for words!!!

    There it is. Plain to see that there is CLEARLY something fishy going on! I'd go as far as to say 'corruption' too!

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    1. Hi Terry
      It's been the case for the last two terms of Scottish government. It is quite deliberate, of course.

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  4. Perhaps the coachloads of tourists can incorporate it into their 'map of Scotland' from the viewpoint of the loch.

    Money always stinks, but the SNP are professionals, they love the smell.

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    1. Strangely, Salmond seems to be keen that wind farms are not visible from major tourist routes. He's keen that the "Lochs & Glens" coach tourists don't see the wind farms, whereas he is ecstatically happy for all Scotland's hillwalkers to have the turbines to themselves.

      The loon should be strapped to a turbine and left there during the midge season. It's a shame that turbines don't kill midges really. Perhaps the raptors (what's left of them after the turbines and gamekeepers have had their play) should peck out his liver and lights too...

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    2. Ah Alan, you have missed his Eminence's cunning ploy to rid the country of tourists who may complain about wind farms. Turbines kill bats whose main food is - Culicoides impunctatus. For those that have never met the creature it is sometimes referred to as Midgicus scotticus. Yes the main preditor of the modge is the bat and the only legal preditor of the bat is the Turbinicus magnicus. Now that is green ecology!

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  5. How can such an obvious conflict of interests be legal? The Minister of Tourism and Energy Minister being the same man is immoral!
    Am surprised they don't make him Environmental Minister too!

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    1. Hi Chris
      Indeed. It is quite fantastic, isn't it? It's more akin to an iron curtain State like Romania, really.

      But then again, is there much difference between dictators like Nicolae Ceausescu and Alex Salmond?
      There isn't really...

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  6. Thanks Alan, This is the first thing i have read today. I’m turning the lights off and going back to bed.
    No, seriously, i am more lost for words that the Energy minister and tourism minister is one and the same. Downright clever i call it. A pre-emptive strike.
    I’m even more stunned that Fergus Ewing (any relation to JR) feels comfortable with the conflict of interest.

    All customers South of the border that use Scottish Power should start switching now.

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    1. It's about as corrupt as you can get, isn't it?

      Dual mandate... It reminds me of Gilbert & Sullivan's "Lord Pooh-Bah" in "The Mikado."

      First Lord of the Treasury, Lord Chief Justice, Commander-in-Chief, Lord High Admiral... Archbishop of Titipu, and Lord Mayor and Lord High Everything Else.

      No more ridiculous, really!

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  7. Evil. I can never understand why people think that polls like the recent YouGov poll will have any influence on wind energy policy. They won't. The Scottish landscape is finished.

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    1. I agree, Gibson.
      The only way wind power stations will be stopped is when their subsidies are removed. The developers don't honestly give a stuff about renewable energy. They are farming subsidies.
      Stop the subsidies and the developers stop. Dead.

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  8. perhaps mr salmond could give fergus ewing another job as minister of stupidity for being an utter and complete moron

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    1. It's seemingly the only Ministry that Ewing hasn't the control of.
      I can feel another letter coming on to Mr Salmond!
      :-)

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    2. Don't worry Alan. Mr Salmond launched the 'Gore-tex Scottish National Trail' last month thereby cementing his reputation as a lover and protector of wild land...

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    3. Cementing his reputation for the fleets of lorry-loads of cement used in the concrete for the turbines' colossal foundations, more like.

      But Mr McNeish seems unperturbed in having Salmond back his endeavours. Would it be too cynical to suggest that perhaps he joined the SNP & become a prominent member of the "Yes" to independence campaign especially for this backing? Stranger things have happened in his publishing past...

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    4. I was tempted to mention Mr McNeish but didn't want to use your blog to have a go at him.'Self-serving'is his middle name and I know exactly what you're getting at regarding his publishing past.

      I wonder if wind farms will get a mention in his forthcoming BBC Scotland programme about the Trail?

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    5. Indeed.
      I really miss TAC. Dave Hewitt got himself a proper job with a proper grown-up paper, much to Mr McNeish's relief, I am sure...

      It's all still there in the online archives though, if anyone wants to see...

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    6. Cameron McNeish has come out progressively anti wind farm in particular Allt Duine and Clath Liath. A fact of life is that if you need to address tourism you have to dine at the same table as Fergus Ewing, as I know only too well. You feel like delivering a few choice words but that would cut across your tourism remit. The only option is to treat the two as separate entities.

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    7. He may well have - but when he has perfect opportunities to make his voice count - like at the "Yes" rally and when launching his Trail with Salmond, he ducked it. That's twice in close proximity. He even wrote it in his speech for the rally (which was on his blog for a while) but cut it out on the day, due to "pressure of time". Pressure of time, my arse!

      Unforgivable.

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    8. Pressure of maintaining the day job. Look at David Bellamy and his future with the BBC when he queried their climate doctrine. However in life there is a point when all need to stand up and be counted and that point has come!

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  9. Like Gibson, I'm always a bit circumspect about what I post on other peoples' blogs; which is why I won't be referring to Scotland's first minister as "that fat p***k Salmond" as I would on my own site. His participation in this launch must surely have sewn up this year's Nobel prize for hypocrisy though.

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    1. Indeed, Dave.
      :-)

      I don't remember Alf Wainwright bringing in a Prime Minister when he launched his "Coast to Coat Walk".

      That little effort seems to have managed without politician's charm offensive (or should that be "offensive charm?") How's the Coast to Coast doing these days? I seem to recall hundreds of thousands doing it... Is that still the case?

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  10. Unsurprisingly, the latest enquiry to a BBC presenter about the coyness of the organisation and those who appear in its programmes has - as of this morning - elicited no response.

    Fifteen, twenty years from now - possibly sooner - this will be yet another issue where they will wish they had been a bit more courageous in providing a platform for free speech.

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    1. That's an interesting read, Alan. It wasn't that specifically I was Referring to, although that's definitely symptomatic of it. For many months now I've been trying to get answers from the BBC and some of the individuals who are employed by it to answer a straight question about their handling of the issue of onshore wind, or rather the avoidance of it.

      I've tried at various levels of the organisation, specific programme links, individual presenters; the most I've ever received is an automated response, usually not even that.

      I had another go this week; it's the most recent entry on the blog and one day I\ll learn how to do a proper link...

      http://ossroad.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/something-and-nothing.html

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    2. Hi Dave
      Thanks for that - I've left a comment on your blog.
      You are highly unlikely to get any sort of answer from the BBC as they refuse (even in court) to answer simple Freedom of Information requests - they sent FIVE barristers to defend a fairly simple FOI request on the make up of a BBC committee who established how the Beeb treats the climate change debate.

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  11. I regret to say that it only gets worse. Inverwick Forest is the latest target. http://windfarmaction.wordpress.com/2012/11/23/inverwick-forest-glenmoriston/
    With the Bhlaraidh originally targeted for 138 turbines, when does this stop.

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    1. Thanks for that, John.
      I've searched a bit but can't find the application. Can you point me to it?
      Thanks.

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