Energy Minister,
Fergus Ewing has granted planning consent for a new 26-turbine wind farm, 5km
south of Strathaven in South Lanarkshire, which will power the equivalent of up
to 49,000 homes in the area and generate approximately £4 million over
the lifetime of the development to the local community.
The proposed wind
farm, which will be developed by Banks Renewables (Kype Muir Wind Farm) Limited
will have a maximum generating capacity of 104MW in the South Lanarkshire
Council area. The construction phase of the development is estimated to create
up to 50 jobs on site.
Mr Ewing
said:
“The Kype
Muir wind farm will create jobs both in its construction and during its
lifetime. Once it is up and running, the wind farm will save thousands of
tonnes of carbon dioxide each year, and will be able to produce enough
electricity to power the equivalent of 49,000 homes.
“It’s
also encouraging to see that this consent will mean that this development will
be at the forefront of driving a solution to deal with the aviation radar
issues that exist with wind development in the area.
“Wind farms,
like Kype Muir, provide considerable benefits to their local community and play
an important part in helping Scotland reach its target of the equivalent of 100
per cent of electricity demand generated from renewables.
“Scotland is
leading the way across UK in how we support local and community ownership of
renewable energy. We have been supporting communities to develop renewable
projects for over a decade and, over that time, our support has adapted to meet
the needs of communities.”