Skye chaos concerns as plans lodged for island to host national turbine storage site

Plans have been lodged for a turbine storage site on the Isle of Skye to serve wind farms being built elsewhere - a move that islanders said will lead to major traffic disruption if given the green light.

Energy company Southern and Scottish Energy (SSE) Renewables proposed the facility be constructed at Kyleakin, just over the Skye Bridge from the mainland. The development would sit on land adjacent to the MOWI Feed Plant at Kyleakin. The fish farm giant manufactures around 180,000 tonnes of fish feed annually at the plant to supply the company's Scottish and international salmon farms.

SSE's proposed development, if given the go-ahead, would store turbine blades for wind farms that are being built in the Great Glen: Cloiche Wind Farm, near Fort Augustus, and Bhlaraidh Wind Farm, on the nearby Glenmoriston Estate.

A second application is also pending to store wind farm components for the wind farms on Skye itself at Ashaig airstrip in Breakish.

Islanders already concerned about the condition of the roads on Skye said the development would bring increased traffic chaos and disruption to what is Scotland's second most visited location. The Inner Hebridean island welcomes hundreds of thousands of tourists each year, with 2024 figures showing 875,000 visitors, according to the Scottish Tourism Alliance.

Members of the Skye Windfarm Information Group (SWIG) said while turbine blades have been stored on the island for use on the mainland in the past, those proposed for one of the windfarms will be 80m long - longer than any brought to the island before.

Concerns about transporting wind turbine blades on Skye have been a central issue in the wind farm inquiries and related planning debates, including those linked to sites such as the Ben Aketil Wind Farm and associated infrastructure proposals.

SSE said the proposed plans were made in response to concerns raised previously by community representatives in Skye around the impact of turbine deliveries via Kyle of Lochalsh Harbour. The energy giant admitted the existing system results in multiple trips on different dates across Skye and via Skye Bridge to the mainland, significantly impacting local residents and the community.

It said the proposed development is intended to "significantly reduce" the impact of deliveries on residents by reducing the number of trips across Skye.

SSE did not respond to concerns raised by SWIG about the Skye Bridge potentially having to be closed each time blades are transported from the proposed storage area to the mainland.

Opponents also claimed there had been a lack of assessment on the cumulative impact of increased traffic related to other wind farm and energy infrastructure projects on the island, including the recently approved SSEN Transmission overhead line upgrade.

SWIG said: "The Skye Bridge/A87 is a lifeline route for businesses, residents and emergency services to and from Skye and from the Western Isles.

"There is no traffic management plan to show when and how SSE propose to move the blades and how they will minimise disruption to traffic, residents, businesses and tourists due to closure of the Skye Bridge."

An SSE Renewables spokesperson said: "Over recent years we've been engaging with local residents and stakeholders in Skye to understand how we can reduce the impacts of turbine component deliveries on the community. The feedback we've received has directly helped shape our plans for a temporary turbine blade storage facility near Kyleakin.

"By listening to the community and acting on that feedback, we've taken practical steps to minimise disruption where possible. Allowing blades to be stored closer to where they arrive would reduce the number of journeys across Skye and over the Skye Bridge, helping to significantly lessen the impact of component deliveries on local residents."