Europe's Largest Windfarm Opens in Scotland

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The largest windfarm in Europe got its official opening by ScottishPower Renewables (Glasgow, Scotland), the U.K. arm of Iberdrola SA (MCE:IBE) (Bilbao, Spain), in Whitelee, Scotland this week and plans are afoot that could see the plant's output almost doubled to 600 megawatts (MW).

The $413 million Whitelee onshore windfarm, 15 kilometres from Glasgow, sits on a 55-square-kilometre site and comprises 140 turbines capable of producing 322 MW of energy. The plant was officially opened by the Iberdrola's President Ignacio Sanchez Galan and Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond, a vocal supporter of renewable energy. It is estimated that Whitelee can produce enough power for 180,000 homes and will save up to 500,000 tonnes of carbon emissions a year.

At the inauguration, Salmond also announced that the Scottish government has given Iberdrola the green light to expand Whitelee's capacity to 452 MW, a boost of 130 MW and enough to power up to 250,000 homes. ScottishPower Renewables is also currently running a new viability study and if that goes to plan, Whitelee's capacity could be bumped up to 600 MW. An application for planning permission will be submitted this summer, according to ScottishPower officials.

"Whitelee represents a milestone in Scottish history," Galan said. "Not only is it the largest windfarm in Europe, but also one of the biggest in the world. "Iberdrola Group is deeply committed to the U.K. and Scotland and wants to be a driver of development and growth in the area. The excellent location of Whitelee has always meant that it would be possible to extend the windfarm, and we are delighted that the Scottish government has approved our plans to do so."

Salmond said: "Whitelee in its current form is already flying the flag for onshore wind power in Europe. The planned extension, which I am delighted to announce today, will enable the windfarm to harness its comparative and competitive advantage in wind-generated energy within Europe. It has the infrastructure, the expertise and the capacity to continue to develop in the future. During its initial construction, the windfarm employed more than 500 people and ploughed 300 million-pound investment directly into the Scottish economy. The benefits of this investment go beyond East Renfrewshire and beyond our real economy. It is an investment in Scotland's potential and ambition to lead the clean, green energy revolution."

The Whitelee farm uses 140 Siemens (NYSE:SI) (Munich, Germany) wind turbines (SWT), rated at 2.3 MW. Prior to Whitelee, Iberdrola's Maranchon windfarm in Guadalajara, Spain, was the biggest onshore windfarm with a capacity of 208 MW.

Earlier this month, ScottishPower emerged as the biggest winner in the Scottish government's recent awarding of "green power" contracts, valued at more than $900 million. For additional information, see May 6, 2009, news article - ScottishPower Secures $904 Million in "Green Power" Contracts.

IIR's Renewable Energy Database provides extensive coverage on the wind energy, geothermal, hydroelectric, landfill-gas-to-energy and utility-scale solar power plants throughout North America, and is now expanding coverage across the world.

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