Camilty Wind Farm - Partnerships for Renewables

Camilty Wind Farm
• Utilising existing access and minimising lengths of new access tracks to reduce
impacts and material requirements.
Forest Design Plan Criteria
3.4.4 The current Forest Design Plan (FDP) for Camilty Plantation was taken into consideration
during the site design process. Turbine locations were chosen to fit in the amended FDP
coupes, (blocks of trees to be harvested together within the FDP) where possible.
3.4.5 FCS will agree practices such as Short Rotation Forestry and Early Felling, as explained in
Chapter 4: Description of the Proposed Development, with PfR based on the current turbine
positions and layout, and to manage the forest with the wind farm in the most optimal way
while ensuring compliance with and retention of UK Woodland Assurance Standard
(UKWAS) certification where applicable. Areas included for felling within the planning
application cannot be UKWAS certified.
3.4.6 Further details of the FDP are provided within Chapter 4: Description of the Proposed
Development.
Landscape and Visual Criteria
3.4.7 The Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) Guidance Siting and Designing Windfarms in the
Landscape (SNH, 2009) was taken into account during the design process. The Guidance
seeks to ensure that wind farms are sited and designed well and identifies that the layout of a
wind farm should relate to the specific characteristics of the landscape. Many landscape and
visual sensitivities can be addressed through good design in wind farm layout.
3.4.8 The Guidance indicates a number of variables relating to key characteristics of wind farm
design, which were taken into account in the design of the proposed wind farm. These
include:
• Layout and number of turbines;
• Size, design and proportion of wind turbines;
• Route and design of access tracks;
• Location and design of temporary borrow pits (though these were not required at
camilty) and temporary construction compounds;
• Location and size of wind monitoring masts;
• Land management changes; and
• Layout and number of wind turbines.
3.4.9 The importance of good design has been included as an integral part of the proposed wind
farm so as to avoid, minimise and, where necessary, compensate for potential adverse
effects. The specific landscape and visual design criteria used to inform the site design
process for the proposed wind farm were as follows;
• To establish a simple and compact form which has a unified appearance;
• Avoidance of outlier turbines and visual stacking;
• Relationship of the wind farm to the character, scale, pattern and composition of the
landscape;
• Potential conflicts with sense of remoteness;
March 2013 3-6 ES Chapter 3
Design Evolution
Copyright Partnerships for Renewables Development Co. Ltd 2013 ©