Correen Hills Wind Farm

Force 9 Energy in partnership with EDF Renewables UK, is exploring an opportunity to develop a wind farm on the Correen Hills, located 7km northwest of Alford, in Aberdeenshire.

Current Status

Following community feedback from our first consultation events in November 2023, and the conclusions drawn from a range of technical and environmental studies, our proposals for the Correen Hills Wind Farm have been revised and updated. Changes include a reduction in the number of turbines from 14 to 10, and a reduction in the height of two of the turbines. As the output capacity would be over 50MW, the Scottish Government’s Energy Consents Unit (ECU) would determine the application for consent, with Aberdeenshire Council a statutory consultee.
 
In October 2023 we submitted a Scoping Request to the ECU. The Scoping Request seeks consultee feedback on the development proposals, and seeks to agree the environmental topics that will be addressed in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) which will accompany any future application for the development.

The Scoping Report is available to view here.

Public Consultation

Force 9 is committed to open and transparent communication with the local community. To date, we have held a number of consultation events in November 2023 to provide detailed information about our proposals and offer members of the public the opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback.

Two further events will be held in October 2024 (details below):

9th October 2024, 3.00pm – 8.00pm, The Clatt Village Hall (AB54 4NY)

10th October 2024, 3.00pm – 8.00pm, The Howe Trinity Church Hall, Alford (AB33 8AD)

The Site

The proposed site is located approximately 7km northwest of Alford in Aberdeenshire. The site sits within the Correen Hills, which is characterised under Nature Scot’s nationwide landscape assessment as Landscape Character Type 28; Outlying Hills and Ridges.

The predominant land use within the site is commercial forestry, mainly Sitka spruce, which has been felled and restocked.  The area to the west of the site is managed open moorland.

About Force 9 Energy

Force 9 is an independent, UK based wind farm developer, with a focus on developing sensitively designed onshore wind farms. UK wind farms in operation, or consented by the Force 9 team, have the potential to contribute more than 500MW of clean, renewable generating capacity in the UK. Scotland has abundant natural resources and is ideally placed to be at the forefront of generating clean, renewable energy. Force 9 always takes careful account of the landscape, environments and communities where our developments may be sited, and is committed to ensuring that sympathetic and sustainable design principles are incorporated into our projects.

You can find out more about Force 9 Energy by visiting our website here.

Berry Burn Wind Farm, Moray
Deuchries Wind Farm, Aberdeenshire

Project Benefits

Community Benefit

Force 9’s development partner, EDF Renewables UK, is committed to paying Community Benefit at the Scottish Government recommended rate: currently at a value equivalent to £5,000 per Mega Watt of installed capacity, for every year of operation (anticipated to be 30 years) to help fund community projects. For illustrative purposes, if a 72 MW wind farm is constructed, this would be worth £360k per year (index linked) for local communities, for each year of operation – a total of up to £10.8million over the project’s lifetime.

Shared Ownership

EDF Renewables UK and Force 9 Energy are providing the opportunity for Communities in the area to consider a share in the ownership of the Correen Hills wind farm.  For more information please contact us using the details provided on this webpage.

Force 9 will liaise closely with interested community groups on this opportunity. Community ownership has the potential to, galvanise communities and build their capacity to grow and develop.

Opportunities for Local Businesses

Force 9 Energy and EDF Renewables UK are committed to giving local businesses every possible opportunity to share in the financial and employment benefits of the construction and operation of Correen Hills wind farm. If constructed, Correen Hills will offer opportunities for local businesses such as accommodation providers, hire companies, fencing contractors, tradespeople and machinery plant owners.

If you represent a local business, please contact us and we will register your interest and keep you informed about valuable opportunities for local businesses connected with the wind farm.

Key Facts

  • Up to ten turbines, eight with a proposed height of up to 200m to blade tip, and two with a height of up to 180m to blade tip.
  • Up to approximately 72MW of renewable electricity generated
  • Enough renewable electricity to power over  74,000* Homes a Year
  • Up to £360,000 Community Benefit Fund per annum and an opportunity for Community and Shared Ownership.
  • Biodiversity net gain designed in

Visit Virtual Exhibition

*Please note that this figure is based on 10 turbines with an installed capacity of 72MW operating at UK average capacity factor of 38.45% capacity and assuming 3,239 is the average UK household electricity consumption in kW hours (based on most recent statistics from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Jan 2024 (DESNZ))

Timeline

October 2023

Submission of Scoping Request to ECU

November 2023

First Public Consultation

December

2023

Scoping Opinion from Scottish Government

November

2024

Second public consultation

March

2025

Target submission

Summer

2026

Anticipated construction start date

October 2028

Anticipated start of operations

Have your say

It is very important to us that the local community continues have an opportunity to provide feedback that will help inform the design, construction, and operation of the proposed Correen Hills Wind Farm.

We would therefore appreciate your views and comments on the following:

Step 1 of 6

  • Privacy Statement

    By filling-in this online form you are agreeing that Cavendish can hold and process your personal data in relation to this public consultation exercise.

    • Cavendish will only share your personal data with the project team companies for planning evaluation purposes only.
    • Your identifiable, personal data will not be used for any other purposes without your consent.

    Cavendish and the project team will use your data to:

    • Send you updates about the project (where you provide us with your contact details).
    • Develop a Statement of Pre-Application Consultation (PAC) Report (or similar document) about this public consultation that will be submitted to the planning authority or similar body; this will be a publicly available document. Your comments will be anonymous, and we will only identify you in these reports with your express permission.

    If you provide us with your contact details, we might also contact you to ask you more about the comments you’ve made.

    Cavendish acts on behalf of the project team to run public consultation activities.

We look forward to receiving your comments on our proposals. If you prefer, you can follow up with comments to:

info@correenhillswindfarm.co.uk or in writing to:

Cavendish, 220 St Vincent Street, Glasgow, G2 5SG

Contact

You can contact us via phone: 0800 066 8943 or email: info@correenhillswindfarm.co.uk.