Europe's largest onshore wind farm will be officially switched on at a ceremony in Scotland later today, in a move that the UK wind industry said would provide further evidence that large-scale onshore developments can secure local community support.
Developers ScottishPower Renewables said the 140-turbine Whitelee wind farm in East Renfrewshire would generate 322MW at full capacity and provide enough power for 180,000 homes.
The company, which is owned by Spanish energy giant Iberdrola, said that it was also seeking to expand the site and add a further 81 turbines with an additional 270MW of capacity.
The application for the first wave of 36 extra turbines is currently with the Scottish government, and the company is hopeful that planning permission will be attained.
Director of ScottishPower Renewables Keith Anderson said the new development was likely to be the first of many large-scale onshore wind farms. "This is now the first wind farm in the United Kingdom over 300MW and we believe others will follow," he told the BBC.
His comments were echoed by Nick Medic of the British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) who predicted that the Whitelee development would help restore focus on onshore wind farms following several months in which offshore developments have dominated the headlines.
"The significance of Whitelee is that it shows there is room for big onshore projects," he said. "The government's renewables strategy calls for 14GW of onshore wind capacity by 2020 and we are going to need more projects like this. "
Onshore wind farms have often faced staunch opposition from local residents and conservation groups, but Medic said that the Whitelee wind farm provided a template for how developers should seek to work alongside residents.
"ScottishPower Renewables was very effective at consulting with the local community," he said. "It polled residents and found there was support for the site and then looked very closely at how to integrate the wind farm into the local environment. The result is a wind farm that will boost local biodiversity. "
The company has invested in a £2m visitor centre at the site and pledged to open the wind farm to the public in the summer. It has also undertaken a project to remove non-native plants from the area as part of a project designed to encourage local wildlife and promote moorland regeneration.
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