Apr 07 - Herald, The; Glasgow (UK)

EUROPE'S largest onshore wind farm goes on stream from today, with the first 10 turbines of the planned 140 now producing enough electricity to power 13,000 homes.

After a five-year delay in the planning system and 18 months of site preparation, the Whitelee wind farm on Eaglesham Moor to the south of Glasgow is finally feeding the national grid.

By the end of the month, a further 10 turbines currently going through a two-week test drive will have been switched on, with the entire project due for completion by the summer of next year.

At that stage Whitelee, with an overall output of over 320 megawatts, will be generating enough power for over 180,000 homes.

According to ScottishPower, the project will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 650,000 tonnes a year, the equivalent to the output of 240,000 cars.

Although the debate over the environmental benefits and impact of wind farms on Scotland's landscape shows little sign of abating, with campaign groups and some politicians remaining fundamentally opposed to them, the feat of engineering involved in a construction site the energy giant claims is the size of the city of Glasgow is impressive.

More than 90km of roads have been laid and bridges constructed to allow the transportation of the 200ft turbines, which are over 300ft to the tip of the blade, across boggy moorland.

Once up, they will dominate 15miles of skyline over four local authority areas, visible to around 1.5 million people daily.

The rate at which the eightpiece turbines will be erected will pick up momentum during the summer months, with construction teams expecting a rate of two per week.

Ironically, the biggest enemy of the timetable is the wind.

Those constructed have a top rotation speed of 17 revolutions per minute, the size of the blades masking the deceptively high speed of 150mph, while each structure has the capability of turning 360 degrees to harness as much wind as possible.

Foundations are dug over 30ft until excavation teams get beyond the peat to hard ground, at which stage foundations are laid and turbines erected in grids from east to west.

ScottishPower's wind farm nerve centre is already based on the site, monitoring the energy generation and output of its other wind farms. Much of the workforce is Danish, employed by the turbine manufacturers Siemens.

The construction teams have also had to work around the reservoir providing water supplies to the Kilmarnock area, with any spillage incurring hefty fines, while a monument to the Covenanters has been preserved.

Despite Eaglesham Moor lacking the natural beauty of most of Scotland, the wind farm still has its detractors.

Campaign group Views of Scotland, whose opinions are echoed by Tory MEP Struan Stevenson, says it will have no environmental benefits, claiming the carbon emissions from the peat digging far outweigh those prevented, while the greater Glasgow area will be turned into "the world's biggest part-time power station".

It also claims the UK and Scottish Government are subsidising the "trashing" of Scotland's landscape by giving energy firms money to construct wind farms and meet certain targets.

But last month the Scottish Government produced a report called Economic Impacts of Wind Farms on Scottish Tourism, which highlighted that three-quarters of tourists surveyed believed that wind farms had a positive or neutral effect on the landscape.

The government claimed that its "overall conclusion is that the effects are so small that, provided planning and marketing are carried out effectively, there is no reason why the two are incompatible".

Once completed, ScottishPower will open the entire 55sq km moorland site to ramblers, mountain bikers, birdwatchers and the curious, connecting the newly laid onsite road network with existing tracks and paths, offering spectacular views of central Scotland right up to the West Highlands and even providing shower facilities.

In addition, it is spending several million pounds on a visitor centre, which will include an education hub providing information on the operation of wind farms and renewable energy generation.

Originally published by Newsquest Media Group.

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