Tomchrasky wind farm plan would bring taller turbines and a longer operating life

What is changing at Tomchrasky?

A live Highland application would significantly alter the proposed Tomchrasky Wind Farm while leaving the turbine count unchanged. Application 26/03624/S36 is under consideration and seeks to raise the maximum blade tip height from 185 metres to 250 metres and extend the operating life from 30 years to 40 years. The proposal remains for 14 turbines and includes a battery energy storage system and associated infrastructure.

The application is a variation to an existing consent, not a decision to build the taller turbines. No decision is recorded in the current CityScope dossier.

Why the change matters

Transport Scotland's consultation response, dated 15 September 2026, says the principal trunk-road issue is the movement of larger turbine components. It records that the access strategy, infrastructure locations and construction programme remain unchanged in the variation assessment. The response also says the developer expects the greater height to be achieved through an additional tower section and that an updated abnormal-load assessment will be needed once the final turbine model is selected.

Fort Augustus and Glenmoriston Community Council submitted a formal objection dated 12 September 2026. It argues that the change from 185 metres to 250 metres would materially increase the development's landscape, visual and community effects, and asks for the application to be refused. Those are the community council's representations, not a finding by the determining authority.

The separate grid question

The wind-farm variation should not be treated as consent for all of the surrounding grid work. Transport Scotland says the indicative grid-connection route considered in the environmental assessment is being progressed through a separate consent process by Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks.

CityScope's Highland records show why the grid connection is part of the wider story. Record 26/01555/SCRE describes a proposed 16.5 kilometre, 132 kilovolt overhead line between the proposed Tomchrasky Wind Farm and the proposed Bingally 400/132 kilovolt substation. A second record, 26/01217/SCRE, describes a Fasnakyle-to-Bingally 132 kilovolt connection. Both are separate records from the Tomchrasky variation.

The screening stage for 26/01217/SCRE has a recorded outcome: the official screening opinion says the proposed development constitutes EIA development and that any future Section 37 consent application must include a full Environmental Impact Assessment report. That is an environmental-assessment requirement, not a consent to build the connection. The current CityScope record still lists the application as awaiting decision, and the available evidence does not establish the final consent outcome for either grid proposal.

The useful reader takeaway is a proposed change in scale and lifetime at Tomchrasky, alongside related grid proposals moving through separate processes. The wind-farm variation remains undecided.