RUSSELL LEADBETTER ends our series on the Whitelee windfarm. Today we look at the ecological benefits of the site - and talk to two residents about their opposing views of the high-profile, £300m project

IN or around the year 2034, the turbines at the Whitelee windfarm may be coming to the end of their natural life-span.

But David MacArthur, ecologist with ScottishPower Renewables, is confident that there will be a meaningful legacy for wildlife.

Whitelee's Habitat Management Area covers more than 24 square kilometres, or 2,480 hectares - making it SPR's largest in the UK.

Before the dumper trucks and the mechanical diggers descended on Eaglesham Moor in 2006, the place was a combination of blanket bog, commercial forestry, and open heathland.

Blanket bogs are a valuable ecosystem that was badly damaged when they were drained, and planted with non-native conifers.

When construction work began at Whitelee, millions of cubic metres of rock were removed from pits on the site and used in roads and construction.

More than two million non-native conifers were also removed to allow the moorland and blanket bog to regenerate.

The aim was to boost the area's biodiversity and attract upland birds such as red grouse and the common snipe.

David said: "We also had to bear in mind that Whitelee is a key site for the black grouse, a bird whose UK numbers are under threat."

As he watched a couple of short-eared owls chase each other across the open moorland, he said: "Assuming that the turbines aren't replaced in 25 years' time, and that the wind-farm has done its job after generating green energy for those 25 years, the legacy that will be left here will be an enhanced habitat for wildlife.

"To use the buzz-word that everyone uses, there will be an improved biodiversity on the moor, in terms of birds and their natural habitat.

"The reinstatement of 900 hectares of blanket bog may not be as sexy as the birds, but that has been important, too.

"It has not only improved a scarce habitat, but it absorbs and stores large amounts of carbon dioxide. This is an ecosystem function that will last for generations and generations."

David worked with Scottish Natural Heritage and on windfarms and designated sites in Argyllshire and the islands before joining SPR six years ago.

"My job involves working with onshore windfarms, like Whitelee, and offshore ones, and green technologies. I get involved with the site selection, advising on the ecological constraints and sensitivities, advising on ecological management issues through the entire planning process, and staying involved in the construction.

He added: "Onshore wind-farms are well established, but a lot of challenges await us with offshore wind, in terms of dealing with ecological sensitivities and the marine environment - sea-mammals and seals." AGAINST: A total waste of cash WHEN he learned eight years ago that Europe's largest onshore windfarm was going to be built near his home, Norman Gibson was far from happy.

He accused ScottishPower of presenting residents with a fait accompli' and said the development was catastrophic' as far as the conservation village of Eaglesham was concerned.

He said he was prepared to go to jail to prevent the project from going ahead.

Today, the 140-turbine windfarm is nearing completion, but Mr Gibson remains resolute in his opposition.

"My views have not changed. It's the most disgusting, horrible thing on earth," he said.

"It's the visual thing, it's the noise, and we have been affected more than I thought we would have been by shadow flickering'."

This is said to be caused when, under certain circumstances, the turbine blades cast a moving shadow, causing a flickering effect.

A year ago, researchers from the Universities of Aston and Essex said that wind turbines should not rotate more than sixty times a minute, to avoid provoking seizures.

Mr Gibson said some flickering had marred the "beautiful sunsets" he used to be able to enjoy from his home, and it was also detectable in the morning from the two nearest wind turbines.

"We've had a constant battle with ScottishPower for a long time about this and have got nowhere."

An SPR spokesman said the company had had no contact with Mr Gibson over shadow flickering, and that it abided by UK Government guidelines when designing windfarms.

He added: "What really galls me mostly is that wind turbines are so inefficient and the government sank all their money into it. There would be no windfarms if there were no subsidies, and people are being made rich out of them.

"To me, it is just a total waste of electricity users' money - all of our bills have shot sky-high because of it.

"Scotland already has 10% green energy in the form of hydro-power but the government, 30 years ago, abandoned the wave-energy project at Edinburgh University."

Alan Mortimer, head of renewables policy at SPR, said most locals supported the windfarm.

"There were some half a million people living within 30 kilometres of the site, yet we only had 32 letters of objection," he said.

Norman Gibson FOR: A clean source of energy WINDMILL Watch has become a regular game in our household, ever since the first turbines at Whitelee appeared on the hill behind our home.

It might be Europe's largest on-shore wind farm, but to Archie, 5, and Harry, 15 months, it's Bob the Builder in action - giant cranes, big diggers and roaring dumper trucks.

Once the construction is finished, we're looking forward to visiting the exhibition, taking a ride on the eco-bus round the site, and making use of the improved tracks and roads for cycling and walking.

Archie's desperate to find out all about turbines, and why we need them, and how they make our telly work - and it's his generation, after all, who will have to find solutions to our energy crisis and climate change.

I have some sympathy for people who feel their lives - or their television pictures, or their countryside views - are being disrupted by the existence of Whitelee.

I have less sympathy with those who declare we shouldn't have wind farms because they won't solve all our energy problems. Surely they are at least an important part of the solution? Isn't it worth a go?

And is a wind farm really any uglier than a row of pylons? Or a nuclear power station?

Whitelee is a clean, reliable source of energy with the potential to be an excellent educational resource and a boost to local tourism and, therefore, I reckon it should be welcomed.

Ann Fotheringham