Sròndoire Background

Sròndoire Wind Farmers Ltd started as a farming partnership between the Lithgow family of Ormsary and the Broadfoot (Kenneth) family of Stronachullin, who have been living and farming the land in Mid Argyll for over a century. Sròndoire is a second and separate wind farm on hill ground between Tarbert and Ardrishaig, adjacent to the north and east of the Allt Dearg Community Wind Farm, consisting of 3 turbines accessed from the existing wind farm track. Power is fed into the overhead wooden pole power lines to Lochgilphead that were upgraded as part of the Allt Dearg project.

A much larger development was previously proposed on the site by npower renewables Ltd, and refused planning consent in 2007. The sheer scale of the first proposal was not acceptable and, having taken on the development ourselves, we addressed these previous issues with the much smaller Allt Dearg Community Wind Farm (9.95MW) which was built in 2012. We were able to secure additional electrical grid capacity (5.9MW initially, with a further 550kW additional capacity later) and were comfortable that there was sufficient "landscape capacity" in the area to visually accommodate 3 additional turbines.

Remote and sparsely populated rural Argyll is not well endowed with economic opportunities; however the very weather conditions that frustrate our farming and tourism sectors are ideal for the production of renewable energy. Diversification and development into new opportunities are essential elements of a vibrant and sustainable community. What sets Sròndoire and the sister Allt Dearg project apart from the majority of wind farms in the UK is that these projects are locally controlled, with local and community ownership which ensures that the maximum level of economic benefit is retained within the host communities.