Lewis' Wind Scaled Down

13/12/2006

The company behind the UK's largest onshore wind farm project - proposed for the Hebridean island of Lewis - has unveiled revised plans for the scheme. The reworked proposal comprises 181 wind turbines compared with the 234 which were originally planned. As a result the wind farm's generating capacity would also have to be reduced from 702 megawatts (MW) to 652MW. The £500m proposed development has been vigorously opposed by conservation groups and anti-wind farm campaigners. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is concerned about the number of birds which could be killed by flying into turbines and says it would be willing to take the matter to Europe if necessary.