Whitelee Windfarm, one of Europe’s biggest onshore wind farms, is to be flattened and rebuilt with fewer, taller turbines by its owner Scottish Power Renewables. The 20-year-old site near Eaglesham, south of Glasgow, currently has 215 operational turbines and is approaching the end of its life.
The company said the existing turbines will be replaced in three phases by about 124 turbines, each around 110m (361ft) taller than those now in place. The £1.5 billion repowering project is expected to take 10 years and will double output from 539 megawatts to 1 gigawatt, enough to power about 650,00 homes.
An application has already been made to the Scottish government's energy consents unit, and the full planning application is expected to be submitted by the end of next year. The upgraded wind farm is anticipated to be fully operational by 2035.
How did Whitelee become such a large wind farm?
Whitelee’s first phase was officially opened by then first minister Alex Salmond in 2009, after being commissioned a year earlier, and at the time it was the largest onshore wind farm in Europe. It initially consisted of 140 turbines and has since been expanded twice to reach its current size.
Scottish Power Renewables chief executive Charlie Jordan said the company was planning ahead for the point when the turbines reach the end of their natural lifespan.
“At this critical moment in the push for home-grown clean, green energy, it's important we don't go in reverse and lose the clean capacity that's been hard-earned over the last two decades as it comes to the end of its operational life,” he added.
Will the site stay open during the rebuild?
The site is expected to remain accessible to the public while the work is carried out. Whitelee was built on Eaglesham Moor and includes footpaths and tracks for walkers to move between the turbines, as well as a visitor centre.
It covers about 83 sq km (32 sq miles), almost half the size of neighbouring Glasgow, and has become a popular location for dog walkers. Scottish Power said the three-phase approach to repowering would allow public access to continue during the rebuild.
Has this been done elsewhere before?
Whitelee is not the first wind farm to be upgraded in this way. The 26 turbines at Hagshaw Hill in South Lanarkshire were repowered last year and replaced with 14 larger ones.
However, Whitelee will be the biggest site to have all of its turbines replaced, and the company says 99% of the material will be recycled.
What does this mean for the wider wind industry?
Analysts at Regen say more than half of Great Britain's current wind farm capacity is expected to reach the end of its life in the next decade. That means more sites are likely to be considered for repowering, creating a pipeline of construction work.
The work at Whitelee is expected to generate about £330m for the Scottish economy.
Key Facts
- Whitelee Windfarm has 215 operational turbines and will be rebuilt in three phases.
- About 124 new turbines will replace the existing machines, each about 110m taller.
- The £1.5 billion project is expected to double output from 539 megawatts to 1 gigawatt.
- The upgrade is anticipated to be fully operational by 2035.
- The project is expected to generate about £330m for the Scottish economy.
