For generations, the west coast horizons of Scotland have been part of our identity. They are world-renowned landscapes that people travel from across the globe to experience: vast open seas, unspoilt island views, dark skies, wildlife, and a sense of peace that has become increasingly rare in the modern world.
These horizons are not empty spaces. They are living ecosystems. Our seas and skies are home to seabirds, migratory birds, basking sharks, dolphins, whales and countless other marine species. For many of us, the wildlife and the unbroken horizon are inseparable from our way of life and from the visitor economy that sustains island communities.
All of this is now under threat from the proposed MachairWind development by Iberdrola, the Spanish energy giant behind Scottish Power Renewables (SPR). This is not a small project tucked away out at sea. It is the industrialisation of the Inner Hebrides on a scale never seen before.
The proposed development covers 448 km² of sea — almost half the size of Mull. It would contain either 90 turbines at 340 metres tall or 147 turbines at 260 metres tall. The array would sit less than 13 miles south of the Ross of Mull and Iona, and even closer to Colonsay and Islay.
To grasp the scale of this project is difficult. A 340-metre turbine is taller than any building in Europe outside Russia. It is taller than the Eiffel Tower. Imagine 90 Eiffel Towers spread across the horizon. Our “big” ferry, the MV Isle of Mull, is around 90 metres long. You would need to stack almost four of them upright to reach the tip of a single turbine blade.
On a clear day, Dubh Artach lighthouse is plainly visible from Iona. Every turbine would be around seven times taller, with rotating blades dominating the skyline. This is not a minor visual change. It is the permanent transformation of one of Scotland’s most celebrated seascapes into an industrial energy zone.
SPR’s visualisations have badly misled many people about the true impact. The panoramic photo montages used at public exhibitions dramatically shrink the apparent scale of the turbines. Anyone who regularly crosses on the Iona ferry knows this instinctively. In SPR’s montage, even the navigation buoys are barely visible blurs. In reality, they are so clear to the naked eye that you can distinguish their colours, shapes and markings. If the images cannot even accurately portray nearby navigation aids, how can they honestly represent turbines hundreds of metres tall?
The visual impact will be enormous. From Bunessan Bay, imagine turbines placed around the Treshnish Isles. Lunga would appear tiny beside them — the turbines would be more than three times its height. Ben Hynish on Tiree is visible from Iona at around 20 miles away, and its radar domes are easy to spot on a clear day. These turbines would tower above it. Anyone claiming the turbines “won’t really be seen” is simply ignoring reality.
But this is not just visual vandalism. It is ecological vandalism too. These waters are rich feeding and migration grounds for seabirds and marine mammals. Yet the risk to wildlife is being downplayed. SPR will likely argue that reducing the footprint of the development by 40% shows they have listened to community concerns and reduced bird mortality by 40%. That sounds reassuring, but it is planning spin. You cannot reduce bird mortality by 40% when no birds have yet been killed. Large developments are routinely proposed at an exaggerated scale before being “reduced” later to appear responsive.
Renewable energy matters, but location matters too. There is a profound difference between responsible renewable energy and sacrificing internationally important landscapes and ecosystems for industrial profit. Scotland already produces more renewable electricity than it consumes. SPR themselves say this electricity is largely intended for export to Wales, which is also already a net exporter of electricity. So why place this development here, in one of the most culturally and environmentally significant marine landscapes in Europe?
There will be no cheaper electricity for local people. No direct cable from MachairWind to island homes. Community benefits remain vague despite repeated requests for detail. Five work experience placements which might be apprenticeships are promised for the whole of Argyll. Which is it? They are very different propositions. £500 grants for small local projects seems generous when you are trying to organise a book festival but are paltry given the multi-million pounds to be made by the developer. No commitment to what the Community Benefit Fund will be other than to be told “it’ll be nothing like as much as for onshore projects”. Meanwhile, taxpayers subsidise these projects and often pay developers to switch turbines off when excess power cannot be used.
This project is not being driven by local need. It is being driven by subsidy, shareholder profit and corporate expansion. The money will not stay in the Hebrides. The damage will.
In June, SPR are expected to submit their plans to the Marine Directorate. When they do, local people must look beyond the carefully managed images and corporate language and ask what is truly being risked. Once these horizons are industrialised, they are lost forever.
If you care about our landscapes, wildlife, tourism economy and island communities, now is the time to speak up. Please write to your MSPs and list MSPs and make your concerns heard before this irreversible decision is made.
Finlay MacDonald