Europe's largest onshore wind farm set for massive expansion

Published on Tuesday 7 September 2010 18:37

IT is already Europe's largest onshore wind farm and creates enough electricity to power 180,000 homes.

• A ceremony marks the big switch-on for Whitelee. Once extended, it will be able to power an average of 300,000 homes Picture: Ian Rutherford

But now Whitelee is set for a massive expansion, which will see it almost double its power-generation capacity over the next two years to become one of the biggest wind farms in the world.

Owner ScottishPower Renewables is to add another 75 turbines to the vast farm on Eaglesham Moor in Renfrewshire, which is to expand from its current 21sq mile site to cover 32sq miles.

The expansion will see Whitelee's generating capacity rise from 322mw to 539mw, increasing the average daily number of homes it is able to power to 300,000.

"This expansion will cement Whitelee's status as the largest wind farm in Europe," said ScottishPower Renewables in a statement, adding that about 200 jobs would be created during the construction of the project, which is due to begin in the next couple of months.

Environmental campaigners welcomed the news, which came as the firm secured a deal with French company Alstom to build the turbines.

"This marks another step forward in Scotland's ambition to harness renewable energy," said Dr Sam Gardner, WWF Scotland's climate policy officer. "Whitelee wind farm already makes a very welcome contribution to meeting Scotland's targets for renewable electricity and reducing climate change emissions. The addition of further turbines is most welcome."

A WWF Scotland report last year claimed that, by 2030, renewable energy could meet between 60 per cent and 143 per cent of Scotland's projected annual electricity demand.

A total of 69 larger wind turbines with a 3mw capacity and six smaller ones are to be built on the site, which will include more than 60 miles of tracks open to the public for cycling and hiking.

Simon Christian, UK director of ScottishPower Renewables, said: "The agreement with Alstom means that work will start shortly on this major extension at Whitelee wind farm, and we expect to be generating electricity by 2012.

"By itself at 217mw, the extension would be one of the largest onshore wind farms in the UK, so we are starting another major construction project in Scotland. Whitelee wind farm is already the largest onshore wind farm in Europe, and this extension, pushing the overall capacity to 539mw, will make it one of the largest in the world."

Rosie Vetter, onshore wind policy manager for Scottish Renewables, added: "This is another major step forward towards Scotland hitting its renewables targets. It is clear that there is still huge potential for the expansion of onshore wind in Scotland."

The Scottish Government aims to generate 50 per cent of electricity from renewable sources by 2020."The planned extension will enable the wind farm to harness its comparative and competitive advantage in wind-generated energy within Europe," said First Minister Alex Salmond.

The announcement comes as Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE) also unveiled plans to build a 29-turbine wind farm at Waterhead Moor near Largs.