Comhairle nan Eilean Siar: Environmental Impact assessment needed for proposed Barvas Moor Windfarm

Comhairle nan Eilean Siar has issued a scoping opinion concluding that the proposed Barvas Moor Windfarm “is likely to give rise to significant effects on the environment” and will require a full Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIAR).

A scoping opinion is issued by the council early in the planning process, before any formal application is submitted. It sets out what environmental information a developer must gather and address in that assessment, and whether one is needed at all.

The Comhairle’s scoping opinion on the Barvas Moor Windfarm proposal concerns the developer’s proposals for nine turbines up to 179.5 metres to tip and a maximum capacity of 49MW, on a 180-hectare site on Barvas Moor Road, Isle of Lewis. The site sits within the Lewis Peatlands SPA and Ramsar site, and is immediately adjacent to the Lewis Peatlands SAC.

The wind farm is being brought forward by West Coast Community Energy, with Locogen Limited as technical agent. According to the Galson Trust, one of West Coast Community Energy’s founding partners alongside the Barvas and Carloway estate trusts, the wind farm would be the largest community-owned windfarm in the UK if consented.

The Comhairle says its conclusion reflects “the sensitive ecological, peatland, and ornithological context of the site, alongside considerations relating to landscape and visual amenity, hydrology, cultural heritage, and aviation safety.”

Among its requirements, the Comhairle wants a Habitats Regulations Appraisal assessing effects on the SPA, SAC and Ramsar interests, ornithological surveys covering potential impacts on Red-throated Divers and Golden Eagle activity, and assessment of impacts on deep peat and hydrology.

On landscape and visual impact, the Comhairle says the cumulative wind farm mapping submitted with the developer’s scoping report “is inaccurate and incomplete,” with “several operational, consented or proposed developments… omitted or incorrectly mapped, including Spiorad na Mara Offshore Wind Farm and Grimshader Wind Farm.” It says the mapping should be revised to “accurately reflect all operational, consented, application-stage and appeal-stage developments relevant to the assessment.”

It also wants “a full assessment of the visual effects arising from aviation lighting” expected from the Ministry of Defence, which has objected to the site’s location within a military low-flying area. The Comhairle’s own supplementary guidance on wind energy development suggests some turbines may not meet its recommended set-back from the A857.

The conclusion also states that “the EIAR should also clearly define the relationship between the Proposed Development and any functionally linked infrastructure, including grid connection and site access, to ensure all reasonably foreseeable environmental effects are fully assessed.”

That requirement draws on the closely-watched Raeshaw Farms Ltd v Scottish Ministers & Energiekontor UK Ltd [2026] CSIH 10 case, in which the Inner House quashed consent for a Borders wind farm in February 2026, ruling that a reporter had failed to assess whether that wind farm and its off-site grid connection amounted to a single project for environmental assessment purposes.

Five months on, the ruling’s influence is beginning to appear in planning decisions taken by local authorities across Scotland.

The Comhairle notes that “nothing in this opinion should be taken as prejudging the Planning Authority’s determination of any future planning application.”

Comhairle nan Eilean Siar was approached for comment.