Berriedale turbine is bound for Northern Ireland

MOTORISTS on the A9 negotiating Berriedale Braes may notice the loss of a longtime prominent landmark.

The wind turbine – the first on the Scottish mainland to be plugged into the national grid – has been dismantled and hauled south. It was erected in 1986 to meet the energy needs of Welbeck Estate in what was a pioneering development.

Standing 100 feet high, the turbine was levelled on Tuesday in an operation involving a crane operated by Wick-based Hugh Simpson Contractors Ltd.

First to go were the blades and then the tower, with the components loaded on to a trailer and carted off by a company based in Ballycastle in Northern Ireland. It will seek to refurbish the parts for use as spares in wind farms.

The 75-kilowatt turbine was the brainchild of former factor Robert Howden and largely worked as it was designed.

Current factor Anson MacAuslan said yesterday: “It was well ahead of its time and was able to provide just about all the power the estate needed. It also produced quite a bit for the grid though the estate didn’t get much for this.”

In its latter years, its maintenance costs were escalating and it was last used five years ago.

Mr Howden, now retired in Invershin, near Lairg, was happy to hear the turbine has been decommissioned. He said: “I’m quite glad to hear it’s been taken down as it had been sitting there doing nothing for the last five years. It stopped the day I left in June 2006.”

Mr Howden, who lived right beside the turbine, said it had operated well during its 21-year lifetime. He said: “When the wind was blowing, it supplied all the power we needed. It worked terribly well and I was rather proud of it.”

Agreeing it was a novel concept at the time, he said: “My idea was that these smallish machines could meet the energy needs of small communities and crofting areas. This would be on a small scale, as opposed to the big wind farms we’re seeing now, which I don’t approve of.”

Mr Howden believed the turbine fitted well into the landscape and said it had become a popular landmark. It was so well known he once received a letter addressed to R. Howden, “house under the windmill”, North of Scotland.

Mr MacAuslan revealed the estate is considering seeking planning consent to erect a similar-sized turbine.