Strathy South Wind Farm

The Strathy South wind farm project is located to the south of SSE Renewables' operational Strathy North wind farm, approximately 12km to the south of Strathy village.

In November 2021, we were granted consent by Scottish Ministers to construct and operate 35 turbines, known as Strathy South Wind Farm, (with a ground to blade tip maximum height of 200m metres), in lands near Strathy, Sutherland.

The Notice of Decision is available to view HERE

In December 2024, we took the final decision to proceed to construction, which is expected to begin in spring 2025 with commercial operations expected in late 2027.

Consent granted in

Number of consented turbines

Dounreay Temporary Laydown Area Proposals

A temporary laydown area is required to temporarily store turbine components ahead of construction of the consented Strathy South wind farm.

The proposed development would be situated at the former airfield at Dounreay Power Station.

Public Exhibitions will be held 4th March at Reay Hall from 2pm - 7pm and on the 19th March at Thurso Library from 4pm - 6pm.

To download and view the exhibition boards on display on these dates, please click here.

Public Exhibitions

We invite you to come along and view our plans and to share your feedback for a temporary turbine laydown area at Dounreay.

Exhibitions will be held at:

Reay Village Hall, Thurso, KW14 7RE

Tuesday 4th March 2025 - 2pm to 7pm

and

Thurso Library, Davidson's Lane, Thurso, KW14 7AF

Wednesday 19th March 2025 - 4pm to 6pm

Final investment decision gives green light to begin construction in 2025.

We have taken a final investment decision to proceed with construction of the 208MW Strathy South wind farm after more than a decade of development.

Main construction is expected to begin in spring 2025, with commercial operations expected in late 2027.

Once complete, with 35 Vestas V162-6.2 wind turbines, Strathy South will be capable of powering around 200,000* homes annually.

We will establish a community investment fund as part of the Strathy South project, which is valued at £1m per year for the lifetime of the wind farm.

In addition, Strathy South will have a vast biodiversity net gain (BNG) through the restoration of peatland at the site and the removal of over 1000 hectares of non-native commercial forestry.

You can read our full announcement here.

*220,849 homes powered per annum based on Typical Domestic Consumption Values (Medium Electricity Profile Class 1,2900kWh per household; OFGEM, June 2021), typical 38.1% projected wind load factor, and projected installed capacity of 208MW

Strathy South Compulsory Purchase Order (December 2023)

SSE Renewables has formally promoted a Compulsory Purchase Order (“CPO”) for the acquisition of land required for the transportation of turbine components for Strathy South Wind Farm. CPO is a legal process used to acquire land, or rights in land, needed to enable a project to proceed, where this might otherwise not be possible through negotiation alone, and where there is a strong case in the public interest to do so.

SSE Renewables primary aim is to reach voluntary agreements with all impacted landowners, and we are encouraged by the on-going negotiations to date. The primary aim remains unchanged; to reach a voluntary agreement with all parties.

We are fully aware and sensitive to the concerns that affected parties may have. We actively encourage all affected parties to discuss their concerns directly with the Project team and voluntary negotiations are continuing. Please e-mail [email protected] for further information.

Following the promotion of CPO, affected parties were provided an opportunity to make a representation to Scottish Ministers (raise an objection) to express concerns or request further information. The Scottish Ministers have appointed Mr Gordon Reid, a Reporter, to conduct an Inquiry in relation to the CPO and to provide a recommendation to the Scottish Ministers as to whether or not to confirm the CPO. The Inquiry is due to take place at the end of October 2024.

As we look forward to the construction of Strathy South Wind Farm, we are committed to continuing to work in as open and transparent a manner as possible. We have issued direct communications to the affected landowners, but we are happy to discuss this process with individuals/organisations that would like further information.

A complete set of the submitted CPO documents can be found below, including the Statement of Reasons document which provides additional detail on the rationale behind the use of these powers. The documents relating to the Inquiry are available on the Scottish Government’s Planning and Environmental Appeals Vision website at the following link Scottish Government - DPEA - Case Details (scotland.gov.uk)

SSE Generation Limited’s Generation Licence

Section 10 and Schedule 3 to the Electricity Act 1989

Ofgem’s Standard Licence Conditions

Location Map of Strathy South Wind Farm

Section 36 Consent and deemed planning permission decision-notice for Strathy South Wind Farm dated 27 April 2018

Section 36C Consent and deemed planning permission decision-notice for Strathy South Wind Farm as varied on 24 November 2021

Abnormal Load Access Route

Map showing extent of Tree Protection Order area

Alternative Route Plan - Scrabster to Isauld

Climate Change Committee, Progress in reducing emissions in Scotland 2022 Report to Parliament, December 2022

Climate Change Committee, Scottish emissions targets first five-yearly review, December 2022

National Planning Framework 4 (February 2023)

Onshore Wind Policy Statement 2022 (December 2022)

Planning Application Amendment – April 2023

SSE Renewables has applied for planning consent for alternate access arrangements at Strathy South Wind Farm.

The proposal is to utilise the access track consented for use for the neighbouring Strathy Wood Wind Farm. This would avoid the construction of a new track serving only Strathy South Wind Farm and negates the need for a significant water crossing to be constructed over the river Strathy.

The application documents are available to view on The Highland Council website here. Reference 23/01402/FUL.

Section 36C Variation Application - August 2020

In August 2020, SSE submitted an application to Scottish Ministers to vary the existing consent for the Strathy South wind Farm, previously granted in April 2018.

The Section 36c Variation has been determined with consent granted by Scottish Ministers. All application documents can be found on this website by clicking here.

Alternatively, the documents can be viewed on the Scottish Government Energy Consent Unit's website here, (application reference number ECU00002133).

Project Background

In 2007 we submitted a proposal to the Scottish Government for a 77 turbine wind farm at Strathy South, an area of commercial forestry plantation, approximately 12km south of Strathy village in north-east Sutherland.

The site lies a few kilometres south of our operational 33 turbine Strathy North wind farm.

Addendum and Further Information Report

Following our 2007 application submission, we undertook considerable additional work and consultation to address consultee feedback and improve the design. As a result of this, in July 2013 we submitted an Addendum to the Scottish Government for a much smaller 47 turbine scheme and this was further reduced to a 39 turbine scheme in 2014.

This provided an improved design to reduce its environmental impact, particularly on peatland and birds.

A copy of the Addendum and subsequent Further Information Report is available to view below.

The key changes to the proposal from the Addendum and Further Information Report were as follows:

Turbine numbers reduced from 77 turbines to 39 turbines
Maximum turbine 'tip height' increased from 110m to 135m
Access tracks reduced with better use of existing tracks
Lay-down areas and borrow pits rationalised and reduced
Grid route moved out of designations and now routed through Strathy North substation

In addition, we repositioned turbines to avoid sensitive areas such as deep peat, pulled turbines back from the south and east forest edges where possible to increase the distance from nearby designations, increased the buffer from watercourses to 70m, created a bird corridor within the site and focused our Habitat Management Plan on peatland restoration in and around the site.

Visibility within the surrounding area remained minimal, despite the increase in the maximum turbine tip height.

Public Inquiry

The Highland Council objected to the proposal triggering a public inquiry which began in 2015, concluding in June 2015 with a recommendation to approve the project.

From this, Scottish Ministers consented Strathy South on 27 April 2018.

Market changes and future of the project

The closure of Ofgem’s Renewable Obligation Certificate (ROC) scheme to new onshore wind projects in March 2017 meant that we had to re-evaluate our approach to ensure new projects can succeed without ROCs. Wind turbine technology is continually evolving with larger, more productive and efficient designs which provides options for the development at Strathy South.

In April 2019 we submitted a Scoping Report to explore the opportunity to vary the consent which would enable optimal performance from the site in a modern energy market free of support mechanisms. Scoping reports are voluntary and engage stakeholders prior to any planning application being submitted.

The main changes proposed in the Scoping Report include an increased tip height of up to 200m and deletion of 1.2km of access tracks.

Project Information

Over the last 10 years a significant amount of environmental survey work has been carried out on the Strathy South proposal. Given its careful approach to development, the extent of work has gone significantly beyond what is required, so that the project could be designed with an abundance of information at hand. SSE has commissioned comprehensive ecological, peat, bird and other studies, and consulted with stakeholders to ensure a thorough knowledge of the site’s characteristics.

The re‐design of the scheme has reduced the total site impact to just 60 hectares from infrastructure and associated indirect effects (including temporary impacts increases this figure to 77.86 ha). We have focused our efforts on both reducing any negative impacts and also creating significant positive impacts from the proposal in the area - specifically the surrounding designations which protect the Flow Country peatlands and important bird species.

Restoring the Flow Country peatlands

In the late 1970s and 1980s, many thousands of hectares of peatland habitat were converted to commercial non-native forestry in the Caithness and Sutherland area. The resulting ploughing and drainage to get trees established caused severe ecological damage and the continuing growth of trees further dries out the peat – degrading not just the peatland but also continuing to impact local wildlife. The conifer plantation on the Strathy South site was planted back to the 1980s and is slow growing. If left untouched, the conifers may take a further 30 years to reach a suitable size to be of market value.

The Strathy South Addendum submitted in 2013, made a commitment to restore and manage peatland by removing the entire conifer plantation within the site boundary. SSE is committed to removing the trees in a manner that facilitates restoration of the peatland. This tree removal, together with measures to raise water levels such as drain blocking, will provide the peatland with a greater chance of recovery than when the forestry is commercially viable to remove in around 30 years time. Without our commitment, the trees will remain to reach a suitable felling size.

The proposed Habitat Management Plan (HMP) for the project will deliver 1,657 hectares of peatland restoration using a variety of techniques and will include the removal of over 1,000 hectares of conifer plantation. A further 231 hectares of peatland management both on and off‐site means the proposed HMP would restore and manage around 1,900 hectares of peatland. SSE has also committed to managing this peatland for the life of the project.

Furthermore, since the Addendum for Strathy South was submitted, SSE has committed to funding peatland management practices on 1,300 hectares outwith the wind farm boundary on the adjacent SPA/SAC. Therefore, directly as a result of this project, around 3,200 ha (12 square miles) of peatland would be restored or managed, delivering one of the largest single peatland restoration and management projects undertaken in the Flow Country. Critically, SSE would not need to do all of this work for mitigation of the wind farm; rather it would be part of our commitment as a responsible developer of renewable energy.

SSE also recognises that this is a long term peatland restoration and management programme, and is committed to this for the 25 year life of the wind farm to prevent the regrowth of the conifers, which would otherwise occur. Furthermore, once the wind farm’s life cycle is over it will be decommissioned, enabling the final phase of restoration to be completed.

Protecting the area's birds

As well as the importance of peatland habitats, they are also home to a wide range of birds, including rarer species such as red-throated diver, black-throated diver, golden eagle, hen harrier, greenshank, golden plover and merlin. This has been a key consideration for us during the development of Strathy South (and Strathy North).

In order to design the site in a way that minimises effects on birds, SSE has gathered as much information as possible on the different species, their characteristics, preferred habitats, nesting and breeding behaviours, and their flight activity around the site. We have collected a substantial amount of bird monitoring data spanning 10 years - going far beyond the statutory requirement of 2 years - and have worked closely with local bird experts including the RSPB, to assess how best to design the site and look at what measures we can put in place to help reduce any negative impacts.

Important documents 2018 - present

Mar 2020 - Open Online Consultation Process Materials

Mar 2020 - Online Comments Form

Aug 2019 - Public Exhibition Boards

Apr 2018 - Existing Section 36 Consent (27 April 2018)

2014 Further information Report

Nov 2014 - Further Information Report (FIR)

Nov 2014 - FIR figures

Nov 2014 - FIR Technical Appendix 4.1 (Peat Management Plan)

Nov 2014 - FIR Technical Appendix 4.2 (Carbon Calculator - data sources)

Nov 2014 - FIR Technical Appendix 4.2 (Carbon Calculator - spreadsheet)

Nov 2014 - FIR Technical Appendix 4.3 (Predicted Habitat Loss Values)