Project updates
These are the latest project updates for Berry Burn Extension
Latest news
Statkraft is grateful to everyone from the local community who attended the our public consultation events for Berry Burn Extension Wind Farm.
We were pleased to welcome visitors on Tuesday, 24 September 2024 at Edinkillie Hall, Dunphail and Wednesday, 30 October 2024 at the Dallas Village Hall, Forres, Moray.
At the event, local residents were able to view our proposals for our borrow pit application, ask the development team questions, and give their feedback. Exhibition materials were also made available to view on this website and are still available for those who couldn’t attend in person.
We intend to submit a planning application soon and will keep this website updated as our plans progress.
Berry Burn Extension Wind Farm has been operating since 2014, consisting of 29 turbines. In 2020, Statkraft applied to extend the existing wind farm by nine turbines. In December 2021, consent was received from the Scottish Government.
Borrow pit materials will be used during the extension construction period, enabling the use of materials found on-site and significantly reducing construction traffic. As a result, a planning application is required to amend the location and size of the borrow pits originally consented. We are not seeking planning permission for further turbines, beyond those already consented.
Statkraft would like to invite residents to public consultation events for the proposed planning application. At these events, you can view our project plans and ask the Project Team questions.
Tuesday, 24 September 2024. Edinkillie Hall, Dunphail, Forres, IV36 2QW. 3pm to 7pm
Wednesday, 30 October 2024. Dallas Village Hall Dallas, Forres, Moray IV36 2SA. 3pm to 7pm.
On site works to install the temporary meteorological mast (met mast) are due to start next week, 29 August 2023. It is expected, depending on weather, that the works will be complete at the beginning of September.
The temporary met mast was approved by Moray Council in March 2023. The mast which will be located close to the eastern boundary of the site, measures up to 80m in height and be in place for up to two years, Only works for the approved met mast are being undertaken at this time. No works associated with the approval of the application to extend Berry Burn wind farm are being undertaken.
The data collected by the met mast will complement our existing data and help inform our decision on the best make and model of turbine to install on site.
You can view the full planning application for the met mast here and the approved planning application to extend Berry Burn here.
Moray Council have approved our application to install a temporary met mast, of up to 80 metres in height.
The mast will measure the wind resource and be present for up to two years. The met mast was consented in March 2023 and you can view all details planning here.
Work to install the met mast is weather dependent and usually takes 14 days. We anticipate this will take place in spring 2023. There are no abnormal loads required for the equipment to be taken to the site.
Following approval of our planning application to extend Berry Burn Wind Farm, the team have been busy planning in preparation for the construction and operations of the project.
An application has been submitted to Moray Council to erect an 80m meteorological mast (met mast) for a temporary period of 24 months which will allow us to collect accurate wind measurement data. This will complement the existing wind data already held and will help inform our decision on the best make and model of turbine to install on site.
You can view the application on the Moray Council website, via application reference 23/00027/APP.
Below is a copy of the Notice of Decision published this week in the Forres Gazette, Northern Scot and Edinburgh Gazette.
We have received confirmation from the Energy Consents Unit (ECU) that the Berry Burn Extension planning application has been approved.
For the sixth consecutive year, Statkraft have released its Low Emissions Scenario - an analysis of the energy world towards 2050.
A report has been published on how to maximise the economic benefits of clean power for consumers while ensuring that the UK reaches net zero emissions at the lowest cost.
As our planning application for the wind farm sits with the Scottish Government for review, we take this important time to reach out to local suppliers and communities to find meaningful ways to bring benefits to the local area.
One of the most common questions we are asked when developing our projects is 'Why here?".
The Moray Council planning committee met in March 2021 and considered our application.
On 23 March the Moray Council Planning and Regulatory Services Committee voted to Not Object to our proposed extension. We thank the Officers and Councillors for giving the application due consideration, and are pleased with their decision.
Our latest project update has just been published, and provides a summary of the feedback to date on the project application, as well as highlighting some of the latest projects to receive support from the Berry Burn Community Fund.
Our approach to the proposed extension to Berry Burn Wind Farm has been selected as a finalist in the Highlands and Islands Renewable Energy Awards.
Wildfires which devastated much of the Moray countryside in the north of Scotland last year have led to increased environmental benefits being proposed by Europe’s largest renewable energy producer.
Our latest newsletter has been distributed to over 480 homes in the area. It confirms submission of our plans for a proposed extension of Berry Burn WInd Farm.
We are pleased to announce that our application for a 9 turbine extension has been submitted to Scottish Government.
As our business grows in Moray, we are pleased to be a member of the Moray Chamber of Commerce, who provide a range of valuable services tailored to Moray businesses.
Statkraft is a leading company in the renewables sector, including hydro, wind and solar generation.
Over 480 households nearest the site have received a newsletter this week to provide an update on the project. The newsletter includes information on Statkraft's world-leading grid project announced in Moray, and an update on the site recovery after the wildfires.
A new life-saving defibrillator for Moray will be available to the public for at least five years after a local fundraising organisation received money to install the equipment and train operators.
A member of the Statkraft development team has been shortlisted as a finalist for the Scottish Renewables Young Professionals Green Energy Awards 2020(External link).
We're pleased to see that the Berry Burn Wind Farm Community fund has allocated an emergency fund of £6000 to help community and voluntary organisations in the area, in these particularly trying times of pandemic.
In response to interest in the ecology of this site at our exhibitions, we were pleased to arrange a workshop which offered the opportunity to sit down with our ecologist and look at the work that has been done so far in more detail.
As we look towards presenting our final plans to the public before submitting an application, we revisited feedback received during our community engagement events in November 2019.
The power sector continues to lead efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Scotland, according to the latest report from the Committee on Climate Change (External link)(CCC).
Low-carbon electricity generation, from sources including wind and solar power, must increase by around 50% in the next decade alone to meet net zero targets.
We'd like to thank the Finderne Community Council for welcoming us to their latest meeting last night (18th February, 2020).
They kindly allowed us time to relate the key details of our public engagement throughout 2019. Please read our Berry Burn Community Engagement report. The relevant report on that activity which was spent listening to residents, businesses and communities.
The questions were fair and interesting and we look forward to further discussions with Finderne and other community councils who have also been open to hearing of our proposal.
We successfully delivered a fresh round of public exhibitions for our proposal to extend Berry Burn Wind Farm at the end of November. This included the news that our application will now be for nine turbines, not ten.
The turbine that was removed avoids an area of deep peat, and means the nearest turbine to Dallas is now over 6km away.
Thank you to everyone who attended and provided their feedback at our events in Edinkillie, Dallas, Rafford and Forres. We would also like to thank the organisers of the facilities we used for their kind help.
As part of our exhibitions we held three specialist sessions to reflect local interest shown in ecology, shared ownership, and improved broadband. These were well attended and were successful in providing those with a particular interest in these areas to have an in-depth conversation with industry experts.
Following our exhibitions in March, we will be hosting another series of events between 21 - 23 November 2019 to present our updated plans and show how the project has evolved before an application is submitted to the Scottish Government.
A newsletter has been delivered to households within 10km of the Berry Burn Wind Farm to update residents on different aspects of the development.
We are proud to be associated with this fantastic community event, held in Grant Park in Forres, several miles north of the Berry Burn Wind Farm.
We were pleased to meet over 60 residents from the surrounding area at our public exhibitions to talk about the proposed extension. Thank you to all those who attended.
Proposals for an extension to an existing wind farm south of Forres are set to be presented to local residents.
