Key Geosynthetic Information: All roads on site have been specially laid so as not to break the surface of peat-land areas and disrupt the flow of natural water courses. The roads are constructed with stone taken from the site on top of layers of geogrid. In total, 2.1 million cubic metres of rock have been taken from borrow pits on the site and used in roads and construction.
20 May 2009 – Scottish Power‘s Chairman Ignacio Galán was joined today by Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond MSP to celebrate the completion of ScottishPower Renewables’ Whitelee Windfarm, Europe’s largest onshore wind power project.
The initial 140 turbines situated across the 55 km squared site will be capable of producing up to 322MW of electricity – enough to power over 180,000 homes and the equivalent of displacing 500,000 tonnes of CO2 a year. A proposal to extend this by another 130 MW has today been approved by the Scottish Government, thus powering an additional 70,000 homes. In addition, the company is also carrying out scoping work on a potential second extension, which could add a further 140MW. It is anticipated that an official planning application will be submitted for this later in the summer. This would mean a total capacity of near 600 MW.
In its position 370 metres above sea level, 15km to Glasgow, there are over 500,000 people living within a 30km radius of Whitelee. This is one of the first major windfarms to be constructed close to large population centres, and an ever increasing supply of renewable energy has been fed directly into these areas since the site first started exporting power in January 2008.
As well as the physical construction of the turbines, the GBP300 million project has also seen the creation of a 90km floating* road network and the connection of over 970km of cables to link the turbines to the national grid. A GBP2m state-of-the-art visitor centre is also in the process of being completed.
At its peak over 500 people were working on-site and more than 1,820,000 working hours have been spent constructing the windfarm. It is thought that both the first extension and planned second extension could create a further 300 green collar jobs.
Switching on one of the final turbines at Whitelee today, Galán, said: “Whitelee is a milestone in the history of Scotland, not only representing the largest wind farm in Europe but also one of the largest in the world.”
“Iberdrola is fully committed to all the markets where it is active and aspires to be an engine for development and growth. Iberdrola is committed to helping Scotland and the UK fully realise its renewable energy potential as we seek to create wealth and prosperity through our investments and local procurement, and also by creating jobs.
“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.”
ScottishPower, part of the Iberdrola Group, has a 9,000-strong workforce in the UK, and registered revenues in the country of nearly GBP7 billion last year. It invested around GBP800 million in Scotland in 2008 and made purchases of more than GBP1 billion from around 2,400 Scottish suppliers.
Commenting Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond MSP said:
“Today we announce further investment, more jobs and greater progress of Scotland’s clean, green energy revolution.
“Our potential for electricity generation from renewables is up to 60GW – more than ten times our peak demand. We have launched the world’s greatest single prize for innovation in marine energy, the GBP10 million Saltire Prize; we are developing and applying clean fossil fuel technology; we have an unrivalled competitive advantage in carbon capture and storage; we have approved Siadar, one of the largest wave energy projects on the planet; as well as developing and consenting hydro and biomass projects. Harnessing all these opportunities has the potential to create more than 16,000 jobs in Scotland over the next decade.
“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 GBP300 million 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 windfarm at Whitelee has been a decade in the making, after the site was first identified in 1999. To plan a project on this scale required in-depth consultation with a wide and varied group of stakeholders. During this process, SPR agreed to construct a new radar station for Glasgow Airport on the site of a disused power station in Kincardine following concerns about potential technical issues.
A working group was also formed with the RSPB, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Forestry Commission to develop a 25km squared habitat management area. The key aim of this group is to enhance the landscape and create an environmental legacy for the site rather than simply minimising the impact of the project. The group are working to promote blanket bog and moorland regeneration and improve conditions for native species such as Black and Red Grouse as well as a variety of wading birds and upland wildlife.
Now that construction is drawing to a close, finishing work will be carried out on the road network and the GBP2m state-of-the-art visitor centre will be completed. The visitor centre will be the first of its kind in the UK and will include an exhibition area explaining the construction of the windfarm and a unique renewable energy education centre which will be operated by specially trained staff.
As part of the company’s plans to make the site fully accessible, tours of the windfarm will also be available for visitors, and plans are being made to introduce eco-friendly buses powered by electricity generated from the site. The site will be fully opened to the public later in the summer, making it one of Scotland’s largest eco-tourist attractions.
Iberdrola is one of the main utilities in the UK, where its subsidiary ScottishPower is the third biggest distributor of electricity. ScottishPower Renewables is the largest wind power operator in the UK with a capacity today of nearly 760 MW, accounting for more than 7% of the Group total worldwide and sufficient to power 425,000 homes. It has a project pipeline of 5,100 MW in the UK, and will in the next few months start construction on around 400 MW.
Iberdrola Renovables, parent company of ScottishPower Renewables, is world leader in wind power** with a total installed capacity of 9,624 MW at the end of March 2009. It has the largest project pipeline in the world (56,000 MW
***), with a wide geographical diversification.
** Source: New Energy Finance
*** Including 10,000 MW contributed by Gamesa through a strategic agreement
Distributed by PR Newswire on behalf of ScottishPower Renewables
