Three Scottish Windfarms Get Green Light

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Three Scottish windfarms with a combined generating capacity of 117 megawatts (MW) have been given the go-ahead.

Despite intense opposition to the 50-MW Whitelaw Brae scheme in the Tweedsmuir hills by Mountaineering Scotland and the Scottish Borders Council, it was green-lit by the Scottish government after a public enquiry. The project will boast 14 turbines with a rated capacity of 3.5 MW each and cost an estimated $73.4 million to construct. Owned by Forsa Energy (Greenock, Scotland), work is expected to kick-off in 2019 with commissioning scheduled for March 2020. The permission also covers a 4-MW battery storage project on-site. In a report for the government, the head of energy consents for the Scottish ministers, Catherine Cacace, stated that the approval took into account the countryside's natural beauty and that the applicants were doing everything within reason to mitigate its impact.

Dumfries and Galloway Council's planning committee granted permission for the other two windfarms, the 40.8-MW Windy Rig windfarm located north of Carsphairn and the 25.6-MW Loganhead project northwest of Langholm. Windy Rig will cost approximately $60 million to construct and will feature 12 turbines rated at 3.4 MW each. Developer Element Power (Portland, Oregon) said the project will be capable of powering 20,000 homes when commissioned in mid-2020.

Stuart Davidson, project manager for Element Power, said: "We are delighted that the Planning Committee approved this proposal today. We have worked hard on the proposal for four years. We have worked closely with local communities, reflecting and acting on feedback from consultees and have refined our plans to make sure that they are acceptable."

The 25.6-MW Loganhead project is being developed by Muirhall Energy (Auchengray, Scotland) approximately 15 kilometres (km) northeast of Lockerbie and 4 km northwest of the town of Langholm in Dumfries and Galloway. The site was selected "due to its good wind speeds and location without any statutory designations for landscape or nature interest." It will cost around $40 million to construct and will boast eight turbines rated at 3.2 MW each. Commissioning is expected at the end of 2019.

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