The Scottish Government has granted planning consent for a proposed wind farm at Tom Nan Clach, north-east Tomatin.

However, planning consent for the Glenkirk wind farm, also in north-east Tomatin, was rejected.

The proposed Tom Nan Clach wind farm will be developed by Infinergy and is expected to have 17 turbines, generating a capacity of up to 39.1MW.

The farm could power the equivalent of more than 18,000 homes in the area.

With regards to the Glenkirk scheme, Finance Secretary John Swinney said he felt the impact on the landscape and the visual aspect was too high. The original application submitted by developers Eurus Energy UK Limited was for 34-turbine, 102MW farm on Balnespick Estate. Following several revisions, this was reduced to just 26 turbines.

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Mr Swinney said: "The Tom Nan Clach wind farm will create jobs both in its construction and during its lifetime, as well as having the capacity to supply more than 18,000 homes with renewable electricity.

"Wind farms, like Tom Nan Clach, will help us achieve our 500 MW target which could be worth up to £2.4 billion to Scottish communities and rural businesses over the lifetime of those projects. And with more than 600 MW at different stages of development and planning, the future for community and locally owned energy across Scotland looks brighter than ever.

"The Scottish Government wants to see the right developments in the right places and Scottish planning policy is clear that the design and location of any wind farm should reflect the scale and character of the landscape and should be considered environmentally acceptable.

"The significant adverse impacts of the proposed Glenkirk wind farm on nearby wild land and key landscape characteristics in conjunction with the cumulative effects with other wind farms and visual impacts on recreational and road users is too great."

(JP/CD)