Slickly Wind Farm

About Statkraft

• Scottish team based in our Glasgow office since 2019
• 28 projects in development, construction, or operation in Scotland
• Innovative energy solutions including our Greener Grid Park in Moray
• More than 50 employees working across Scotland
• Working with local suppliers in the Highlands
• Distributed over £1.4 million to communities across the Highlands and Scotland

Proposed Changes to Slickly Wind Farm 

Slickly Wind Farm was granted planning permission in 2022 for 11 turbines with a maximum tip height of 149.9 metres.

As a result of Slickly Wind Farm’s grid connection being delayed, we believe there is an opportunity to revise the project which would reduce environmental impacts and
offer greater community benefits. We propose to increase the tip height of the wind turbines, to reflect improved turbine technology, and reduce their overall number.

The final design is subject to ongoing environmental surveys, community feedback, and engineering design work. At this stage it is anticipated that any new application will remain below the 50 MW threshold and will be decided by The Highland Council.

Landscape and Visual

A Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment (LVIA) will be submitted as part of the planning application. Whilst the consented development included aviation lighting, as the proposed turbines are taller a new aviation lighting scheme will be required. We will work with the aviation authorities to agree an aviation lighting scheme and will seek to minimise the number of turbines lit as far as possible.

Our expert landscape architect is available to discuss viewpoints and make use of 3D digital modelling software.

Illustrations of all agreed viewpoints will be available as part of our planning application. Indicative visualisations are available to demonstrate how the current proposal could look compared to the consented project.

Viewpoints

Visualisations from four local viewpoints have been produced to compare the proposed redesign with the previously consented scheme.

Environmental Impact Assessment

We have a detailed understanding of the site from our previous environmental surveys dating back to 2012. We are building on this knowledge through additional surveys in line with the relevant guidance. The combination of previous and new surveys means that there is a high degree of understanding of the site, which allows us to design sensitively, avoiding known constraints.

Environmental surveys and assessments are being undertaken by a team of specialist, independent environmental and technical consultants. The results and findings will be detailed in an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report, which will be publicly available as part of our planning application.

The survey findings will help to establish where mitigation measures will be required to minimise and, where possible, negate any adverse effects. Consultation with The Highland Council and statutory bodies is ongoing to determine the scope of the environmental assessments.

The environmental topics being examined include, but are not limited to:

Landscape and visual
A full landscape and visual impact assessment will be undertaken for the EIA Report and will include updated visualisations from agreed viewpoints.

Ecology and ornithology
We will undertake additional ecology and ornithology surveys to build on the existing data we have collected. The project team are aware of the site’s proximity to the Caithness and Sutherland Peatlands Special Protection Area (SPA), and the bird species known to use the SPA; as was the case in the consented application, our EIA Report will fully assess potential impacts.

Geology, peat and hydrology 
The project team are aware of the presence of areas of deep peat on the site. Our ongoing design process for the proposed development will seek to minimise
the impact. Our proposals restate our commitment to remove the forestry on the site and restore the land to high quality peatland habitat. This measure will introduce
tangible ecological benefit and improvement through the removal of commercial forestry.

Cultural heritage 
The project team will continue consultation with Historic Environment Scotland (HES) and will include a full assessment of impacts within the EIA Report.
The project team are aware of nearby heritage assets and are designing the project with these in mind, including the removal of the consented turbines closest to the Kirkstones scheduled monument.

Traffic and transport 
Our EIA Report will include a traffic and transport assessment which will include an assessment of the transport delivery route from port to site. Fewer turbines reduces the number of abnormal load deliveries to the site, reducing impact on the local road network.

Noise
Our EIA Report will include a comprehensive noise assessment; the proposed development will be designed to meet the requirements of applicable noise limits.

Local Investment

Statkraft is committed to giving back to the local community both through community funds and through working with local suppliers. The relationships we forge with local suppliers help our projects to become successes and provide valuable investment in the local area.