Clyde wind farm officially opened

RNS Number : 2928M

SSE PLC

14 September 2012

 



Clyde wind farm officially opened

SSE's Clyde wind farm has today been officially opened by Scotland's First Minister, Alex Salmond. Clyde wind farm is one of the largest single consented wind farms in Europe and represents SSE's largest onshore wind project.

Clyde makes a significant contribution to SSE's position as the largest generator of electricity from wind across the UK and Ireland, and supports SSE's generation priority of becoming a greener and more flexible non-nuclear generator. SSE currently has over 3,000 megawatts (MW) of renewable generation capacity in operation in the UK and Ireland, of which over 1,600MW is powered by wind.

The 152 turbines at Clyde wind farm are split into three sections with a total installed capacity of 350MW, capable of producing enough energy during a year to meet the needs of around 280,000 homes. The project is situated between Biggar and Moffat occupying around 47 square kilometres.

Consent for Clyde wind farm was granted by Scottish Ministers in July 2008 with construction commencing in April 2009. At the peak of this construction around 400 people were employed on the site. The £500m project has contributed approximately £100m of contract value to companies in Scotland.

Clyde has the largest wind farm Community Investment Fund in Scotland which is expected to be worth around £22million in total (£875,000 per year for the lifetime of the wind farm).

SSE's Chief Executive, Ian Marchant, said:

"Clyde reaffirms SSE's position as the largest generator of electricity from wind across Great Britain and Ireland and is a major milestone for SSE in progressing its investment in renewable generation. Importantly, the site also provides a lasting legacy, with a significant number of permanent jobs and a Community Investment Fund which can make a real difference to the local area."

Scotland's First Minister, Alex Salmond, said:

"Scotland has astounding green energy potential and vast natural resources. Harnessing this through renewable energy offers the prospect of tens of thousands of new jobs and billions of pounds of investment in our economy - nothing less than the reindustrialisation of Scotland."

"Here in Lanarkshire, in Scotland's heartland, the Clyde Wind Farm is a great example of how the renewables revolution is good news economically for business and communities.  Quite apart from the jobs and economic benefit being created through SSE's 350 megawatt wind farm, almost £22m will be ploughed into communities across South Lanarkshire, the Borders and Dumfries and Galloway over the next 25 years from their profits."

 

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