Wilson Renewables comprises part of a family business that originated in sawmilling and forestry, but who moved across into wind power in 2003.
Wilson Renewables have previously successfully obtained planning permission for Bankend Rig Wind Farm (an 11 turbine scheme of up to 14.3 MW, which was energised in 2013); have received planning permission for Bankend Rig II (a 3 turbine extension to Bankend Rig Wind Farm of up to 18 MW, which is yet to be constructed); and have worked in partnership with Banks Renewables on Mill Rig Wind Farm (a 6 turbine scheme of up to 36 MW, which was granted planning permission in September 2022 and is also yet to be constructed).
TNEI were commissioned by Wilson Renewables to provide support on an application for Section 36 (S36) consent for a 10 wind turbine scheme (named Bankend Rig III Wind Farm) with a generating capacity of up to 66 MW and turbines of up to 250 m to blade tip) at a site in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. TNEI were contracted to act as the consultant Project Manager, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) co-ordinator, the planning lead and the technical specialist for noise, shadow flicker and socio-economics. TNEI also provided Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and mapping support for the S36 Application, including the production of supporting figures, plans as well as the production of technical drawings within AutoCAD.
The challenge
The selected site for the proposed Bankend Rig III Wind Farm was subject to various environmental and technical constraints which needed to be weighed up and addressed in order to reach a development design which would be deemed acceptable from an EIA perspective. In particular, the Muirkirk & North Lowther Uplands Special Protection Area (SPA) and the Muirkirk Uplands Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) are located directly south of the Red Line Boundary for the S36 Application. Furthermore, the Site comprised an area of commercial forestry, thus careful consideration was needed regarding the management of felling the forestry and replanting new forestry over the course of the construction and operation of the wind farm development. The Proposed Development site was also proposed on land which had the potential to have areas of deeper peat. In regard to topography, the Site and surrounding area comprise a series of broadly rounded hills containing coniferous forest with upland grass rides, marshland, and landform associated with the numerous small water courses. There are also various existing or consented wind turbine developments in the wider area in which the wind farm is proposed. This meant that cumulative impacts had the potential to be unacceptable (particular with regards to noise, landscape and visual and cultural heritage impacts) and therefore needed to be considered carefully as the project progressed.
Our approach
Firstly in order to tackle this challenge, and prior to being commissioned to provide support on the full S36 Application, TNEI co-ordinated and authored an EIA Scoping Opinion Request which was submitted to the Scottish Government’s Energy Consents Unit (ECU) in June 2022. In the EIA Scoping Opinion Request, TNEI proposed a targeted and proportionate scope and methodology for the forthcoming EIA (i.e. a scope and methodology which only focussed in on the anticipated main effects of the Proposed Development). The scope and methodology proposed was based on commentary and inputs received from a team of specialist sub-consultants.
Once the scope of the EIA was established with the ECU, TNEI facilitated the evolution of the Proposed Development through the detailed design process. TNEI managed and organised meetings with key consultees and stakeholders including NatureScot (to discuss appropriate survey schedules and necessary buffer distances to the SPA and SSSI), Historic Environmental Scotland (to discuss cumulative impacts on cultural heritage assets), and Scottish Forestry (to discuss the long-term planting strategy for the Site). TNEI collated the information gathered from consultations with consultees and stakeholders and from technical surveys. TNEI subsequently balanced conflicting constraints and considerations from all the different disciplines to ultimately establish a layout and design – including the turbines and the associated infrastructure (namely areas of hardstanding, access tracks and electrical infrastructure) – which appropriately minimised the significant impacts of the Proposed Development.
TNEI then co-ordinated the compilation of the EIA. TNEI managed the team of sub-consultants (including inter alia landscape architects, ecologists and ornithologists, acousticians, hydrologists) and the authoring of their individual technical chapters, ensuring that the EIA was prepared in line with the Scoping Opinion which had already been carefully curated. TNEI also authored the front-end chapters of the EIA report, within which a detailed explanation of the design evolution was provided in order to illustrate the rationale for the final development design and layout to the decision-maker.
Results
TNEI successfully co-ordinated the EIA and submitted this to the ECU as part of the wider application for Section 36 consent for Bankend Rig 3 Wind Farm in January 2024.
TNEI played a key role in evolving the layout of the Proposed Development through initiating and facilitating consultation and further survey work. TNEI managed to ensure that agreement was reached between the Applicant and some consultees/stakeholders on certain design decisions (including dropping the number of turbines and amending their sizes and locations) so as to reduce the potential for significant environmental effects as far as reasonably practicable while still maintaining a viable development for the client. TNEI also ensured that the EIA prepared was fit for purpose, namely checking that any mitigation measures proposed within the EIA were appropriate and proportionate (and thus would not commit the Applicant to undertaking any unnecessarily onerous or inflated mitigation should the Proposed Development be constructed).
Following submission of the S36 Application in January 2024, TNEI then monitored the S36 Application through to determination, responding to both consultees and public representations as and when required. It should be noted that no Further Environmental Information (FEI) was requested which illustrates that the submitted S36 Application and associated EIA were comprehensive. If FEI had been required, the S36 Application would have had to go back out to consultees for consultation and this would have therefore considerably delayed when the S36 Application determination was ultimately issued.
Once all consultation for the S36 Application had been completed, TNEI also undertook a review of the conditions proposed by the ECU for Bankend Rig III and subsequently proposed and negotiated changes to ensure the final agreed conditions were appropriate and fit for purpose for the Proposed Development.
Consent under Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 (and deemed planning permission under Section 57 (2) of the Town & Country Planning Act (Scotland) 1997) was granted for Bankend Rig III Wind Farm on 21st November 2025.
“Wilson Renewables have worked with TNEI for several years on our pipeline of onshore wind projects in South Lanarkshire. Their in depth knowledge, experience and professionalism has been a differentiating factor in us achieving planning consent for our Bankend Rig III Wind Farm”
