Most windfarm developers are avoiding sites which will have a significant impact on Scotland's landscapes and wildlife, according to a new report by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH). The study shows that SNH had no objection in principle to most (about 75%) applications over the past five years.

However, the report's authors warn that this will be more difficult to achieve as the most suitable sites are used up, and as the cumulative effects of increasing numbers of windfarms in the countryside become more apparent. They urge developers and decision makers to continue to take great care in site selection, as some of Scotland's most treasured wildlife and high quality landscapes could be under threat from poorly-situated windfarms in the future.

Renewable Trends and Statistics 2006, which is published on the SNH website, reveals that since 2001 SNH has responded formally to 144 onshore windfarm applications. The majority of these (57%) have been in areas it has classified as being of the 'lowest natural heritage sensitivity' while only six per cent fall within those categorised as being of the 'greatest natural heritage sensitivity'. Sensitive sites include land protected for internationally and nationally important wildlife and habitats and areas of outstanding landscape value, including National Scenic Areas, core zones of National Parks and wild land.

Commenting on the report, Bill Band, national strategy manager at SNH, welcomed the findings and the commitment that they reflected on the part of most developers to avoid significant damage to the natural heritage.

But he stressed that the job of keeping wind energy development in harmony with Scotland's natural heritage would get tougher over the next few years. He explained: "So far it has not been too difficult to find sites for windfarms that limit their visual impacts and present little risk to valued wildlife. Most developers have worked hard to do this and have followed advice that has helped them to do so, such as that in SNH's Strategic Locational Guidance.

"Inevitably, though, the supply of problem-free sites is diminishing. We also now have to face up to the tricky issue of the inter-relationships between windfarms, or 'cumulative impact' as it is known in the jargon.

This situation presents all of us - developers, advisers and decision-makers - with a real challenge in keeping renewable energy development on a truly sustainable course."

SNH lodged outright objections, given in cases where the development would have unavoidable and unacceptable impacts on the natural heritage, to only 25% of the windfarm proposals on which they provided formal comment. In a third of cases it raised no objection. In 42% of cases SNH registered a 'conditional objection', which meant that it was not opposed to the proposal in principle, provided that certain restrictions were placed upon the development to ensure that adverse impacts on the natural heritage were minimised.

The report also notes that numbers of applications in areas of 'medium sensitivity' has risen from 33% in November 2004 to 42% in 2006. Medium sensitivity sites include any site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) which does not fall into the highly sensitive category, sensitive bird species, local landscape designations and regional parks. The increase in the proportion of sites in this category illustrates the growing difficulty of reconciling wind energy development with natural heritage interests - and the importance of working hard to do so.

In total, the current level of proposed and approved schemes add up to 9015 MW of generating capacity, which means that Scotland is on target to produce 40 per cent of its energy through renewables by 2020. Onshore windfarms form the vast majority of renewables proposals, although there is some interest for developing offshore wind facilities in Aberdeenshire, as well as small-scale developments in biomass, hydro and marine renewables. SNH supports a renewables technology energy mix, provided it is developed alongside alongside energy efficiency and demand reduction measures.