Community leaders 'furious' at Highland Council after it fails to renew renewable energy scheme map

Community leaders are ‘furious’ that Highland Council has failed to revise an online map of all renewable energy schemes in the region.

The project went online some years ago but has failed to keep pace with the proliferation of windfarms, other renewables projects and growth in transmission lines.

The local authority pledged last September to revise the data on a regular basis, granting the necessary money to staff an upgraded system.

The promise followed the intervention of more than 60 community councils across the region which demanded a better information service.

Beauly councillor Helen Crawford presented their case in the council chamber and ultimately won the support of most colleagues to address the issue.

However, industry watchers say nothing has been updated in those six months.

In a statement, Highland Council said: “It is in the process of being updated to provide a more holistic combined mapping.

“This work is ongoing. BESS (battery storage) and wind data will be included.”

Preparing to raise the issue once again at a full council meeting in Inverness on Thursday, councillor Crawford said: “I’m very disappointed that action hasn’t been taken sooner to get the website updated, as has been agreed by the majority of councillors across the Highlands.

“I would think that most reasonable people would think it would be up and running and available by now.”

The Communities B4 Power Companies campaign group wrote to each councillor prior to the meeting to press for a date for the website to be updated.

“It is increasingly difficult to get an over arching picture of what is happening in our region,” it said.

“We would ask that the date for release be within the next two to three weeks.”