Jan 19 - Sunday Herald


Plans for a major expansion of Scotland's biggest windfarm are to be unveiled this week by Scottish Power, with the aim of generating enough electricity for every home in Glasgow.

The Spanish-owned company is to apply for permission to build 45 new wind turbines at Whitelee on Eaglesham Moor, south of the city.

Along with an extension planned earlier, this will bring the total number of turbines on the site to 221, and allow the windfarm will supply 614 megawatts of "clean green electricity", says Scottish Power. That is enough to power 340,000 households - 55,800 more than there are in the city of Glasgow When the Whitelee windfarm was first given the go-ahead in 2006, it was for 140 turbines to generate 322 megawatts of electricity.

"During the original planning for Whitelee we established that there would be great opportunities to extend the initial project due to the excellent location of the site, " said Scottish Power project development director Simon Christian.

The firm applied to add an extra 36 turbines last April If they get the goahead by the Scottish government, an application for a further 45 will follow.

"We are hoping to hear from the government in the next couple of months regarding the first extension, " Christian said. "If all goes to plan, we will submit an official planning application for the second extension early in the summer."

Whitelee is already Europe's largest onshore windfarm. The second- largest is in Guadalajara, Spain, run by Scottish Power's parent company, Iberdrola, with an output of 208 megawatts.

So far, 102 turbines have been built at Whitelee, with another 38 due up before the summer. According to Scottish Power, the company is on target to produce over 1000 megawatts from all its wind farms by 2010. Up to 500 workers have been on the site which could end up covering 75sqkm of moorland. The scale of the development has provoked criticisms from some environmental groups, though others are supportive.

"This development is massive, with a massive landscape impact and giant wind turbines visible over very large areas, " said Davie Black, the wildland campaign officer for Ramblers Scotland. "We are worried that we will soon reach the state where such giant turbines are clearly visible from most Scottish hills. " Black also feared that public access to the entire Whitelee site would be prohibited during construction of the windfarm, creating a large "no-go area". The windfarm will, however, be open to the public when it is completed, with a visitor centre and planned tours in eco-buses powered by wind-generated electricity.

John Mayhew, director of the Association for the Protection of Rural Scotland, said Whitelee might be a better site than some others, but a full environmental assessment would be needed to see if the proposed expansion was acceptable.

He said: "In general, we'd rather see big wind farms near centres of demand in the central belt - like Whitelee - than in a scenic area in Harris with miles of ugly pylons bringing the electricity south."

Friends of the Earth Scotland backed the plan. "This s another welcome piece in the jigsaw of changes needed to deliver rapid and sustained reductions in Scotland's greenhouse gas emissions, " said chief executive Duncan McLaren.

"To replace our risky and polluting nuclear and coal-fired power stations, Scotland needs large-scale investment in renewable energy - including onshore wind - and in a 'smart grid' for improved energy storage and management."

Originally published by Newsquest Media Group.

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