The site is approximately 6km north of Lybster and 19km south west of Wick and is located next to the Golticlay Wind farm which is currently under construction.
Over a decade ago, RWE (then Innogy) explored this area for a possible Wind Farm project, previously called Stemster. In 2021, after Innogy merged with E.ON to become RWE, the project was put on hold until the neighbouring Golticlay project progressed. RWE has now resumed its interest in the site.
Early assessment of the site suggested that it could accommodate a commercial scale wind farm and as such would likely see the proposal have an installed capacity of over 50 Mega Watts. Golticlay Extension (then Stemster) was scoped twice in 2018 and 2019. Now that Golticlay is consented, we felt it was appropriate to rescope the project as an extension. We have since commissioned further studies to assess the site’s suitability against other factors. When identifying a suitable location for a wind farm, RWE invests considerable time and effort into assessing site viability. The current site is approximately 995 hectares and consists predominantly of open moorland that is used by grazing cattle and sheep.
Therefore, in January 2025 we submitted a Scoping Opinion to the Scottish Government’s Energy Consents Unit (ECU). The Scoping Request seeks consultee feedback on the development proposals, the environmental aspects that will be addressed in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and the methodologies proposed to undertake these assessments. Importantly, the Highland Council and other consultees, including the Community Council, had the opportunity to provide early comment and feedback. We also held a number of Community Consultation events where members of the public also provided their feedback. All this information has been included in your design process and has lead to the completion of an Environmental Information Assessment Report (EIAR) which will make up the planning application.
