AN offshore windfarm project which could bring a jobs boost to Buckie was back in town last week to unveil the latest progress in the scheme.
Moray West Offshore Windfarm, which comes under the Moray Offshore Renewables Ltd banner, held their latest public consultation in the Old Coach House focusing on where the power cables carrying the electricity generated would come ashore.
A zone between cullen and Sandend has been selected as the most likely spot although an exact location is still to be decided. From there, an underground transmission cable will run to Blackhillock, near Keith, where it will be connected to the national grid via a newly constructed sub-station.
Jamie Grant, the project’s offtow development manager, said: “Over the rest of the week we’ll consultations in Buckie, Keith, Portsoy and Sandend and we hope as many people as possible and see what’s planned.
“Moray West will feature 85 turbines generating sufficient electricity to power 850,000 homes.
“At this stage we’ve got the necessary consents for the offshore work but we need planing permission from Moray and Aberdeenshire councils for the onshore stretch.
“We’re looking at submitting an outline planning application initially followed by a full one after that.
“Timescales depend on the issues raised in these consultation meetings but we would hope that, all being well, we’d have the first planning application in by May of this year.”
Mr Grant went on to say that once the construction phase of the windfarm had commenced, there would be a great deal of work to tap into, both with the building of the windfarms themselves and their infrastructure but also in terms of providing a port for the vessels which will service the turbines on an ongoing basis.