Whitelee wind farm “now the largest in Europe”
Friday 28 November 2008
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| The 140 turbine Whitelee wind farm is on schedule to be finished by the summer of 2009, by which time the developers hope to have planning permission for another 30 wind turbines |
Scottish Power Renewables has announced that its Whitelee wind farm near Glasgow can now produce over 209MW of power - which the firm says makes it the largest operational wind farm in Europe.
Following the construction of a turbine as part of the farm's ongoing development, ScottishPower Renewables said that Whitelee has now overtaken the 208MW Maranchon wind farm in Spain, owned by ScottishPower parent company Iberdrola Renewables.
Keith Anderson, director of ScottishPower Renewables, said: "To see Whitelee become the largest wind farm in Europe is an incredible achievement and down to the hard work of many hundreds of people and the support of the Scottish and UK Governments."
He added: "A project on this scale is unprecedented and we have overcome many obstacles to get where we are."
Next phase
The Whitelee project is in its first stage of development, which is due to be complete by the summer of 2009 and will see 140 turbines generating 322MW of electricity.
Back in April ScottishPower Renewables submitted an application to extend the site by a further 36 turbines, and the firm is expecting a decision from the Scottish Government at the beginning of next year.
If approved, the new turbines will increase the output of power by up to 130MW, and take the total capacity of the wind farm up to 452MW.
The company is also currently constructing a visitor centre to encourage people to visit the site (see this New Energy Focus story), and plans are being made to introduce buses powered by electricity from the farm.
And, following concerns about interference with the radar at Glasgow Airport, ScottishPower Renewables constructed a new radar tower at a disused power station in Kincardine.
Keith Anderson said: "It is fitting that Scotland, a country that has some of the best renewable resources in the world, is home to the most powerful wind farm in Europe. It is an achievement we can all be proud of."
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