A hundred years ago many of the remoter glens still sustained small populations and none were flooded for hydro power. Today we have the march of wind farms, hill tracks and the spread of a plethora of recreational interests, some being more intrusive than others. In another hundred years, wild and remoter land will look different again. Change is inevitable and leaves NEMT with dilemmas as to what to support, or at least not to oppose, and what to campaign against. Decisions about objecting to wind farms in the Monadhliath, on the one hand, and supporting the regeneration and spread of natural woodland on the other, pose few problems for NEMT but what about more marginal cases? Three situations have provoked debate at recent NEMT Council meetings.
Proposals for two wind farms on the southern margins of the Grampians, close to the boundary of the National Park, are being developed. The first of these is the Macritch project at Backwater Reservoir, near Glen Isla; this proposed development is on the hills to the east of the reservoir, stretching north up the glen beyond Glenmarkie Lodge. The second is the Nathro Wind Farm, south of Glen Lethnot and east of Clova. The difficulty with these developments is they are not sited in prime wild land but would be close to, and visible from, the Clova hills. After much debate, NEMT has decided to object to both.
The Coire Glas pump storage hydro scheme, developed by Scottish and Southern Electricity, has been given the green light by the Scottish Government and is a different case altogether. This will create a reservoir in place of the small Loch a'Choire Ghlais nestling between the two main ridges of the Munro Sron a'Choire Ghairbh which lies west of the north end of Loch Lochy. The dam will obviously be visible from many routes up the hill and from the Corbett Ben Tee. NEMT did not object to this, although a number of conservation groups did. Should we have? The case for opposing the development is strong as this is clearly an area of wild land. Set against this is the argument that dams are much less intrusive than wind farms (how far does the dam on Cruachan spoil a traverse of the ridge?) and some developments in wild land are inevitable. In addition, many view pump storage as one of the most effective of the renewables, providing predictable levels of energy over a very long life span, although others have questioned how green it actually is. The power station will be buried in the hill so the dam, access track and the outlet into Loch Lochy will be the visible aspects.
Comments on these dilemmas, and similar dilemmas, from readers of Mountain Views would be welcomed.
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