From the BBC Wildlife Magazine in 2008 on the rejection 11 turbines, rated at 80MW, at Bodinglee in Eaglesham Moor:

Plans for a wind farm in East Renfrewshire have been scrapped after developers said the area was too environmentally sensitive.

Robin Winstanley, sustainability and external affairs manager at Banks Renewables, said:

“We take our environmental responsibilities seriously and have reluctantly decided not to proceed with this project.”

Wildlife surveys revealed the site was a key habitat and breeding ground for a number of species protected under environmental legislation.

The article also points out that:

• In Norway, some 30 white-tailed eagles were killed on one island after a large wind farm began operating there in 2005.
• More than 800 griffon vultures have died at Spanish wind farms since 2000.
• A US report estimated that 70,000 birds were killed a year by wind farms.

Many of us, who have spent considerable time walking the moors here, believe that Scout Moor 1 has had a devastating impact on skylark populations in the vicinity of the wind farm. Curlews are under particular pressure nationwide and have been added to the red list for endangered species.

It’s hard to understand how renewable energy, supposedly designed to save the planet, can be allowed to further reduce the population of endangered birds on Scout Moor and Rooley Moor.