Whirlwind Renewables yesterday announced that it will start work on a building a new wind farm in Caithness following funding support from Clydesdale Bank’s renewable energy lending unit.
Achlachan wind farm – comprising five 2 MW German-built wind turbines – will be one of the first built under the Brit-Govt’s ‘contracts for difference’ subsidy scheme.
Site preparation work will start this Spring, with full operations expected by October 2018. Annual energy production will be sufficient to power approximately 8,400 homes.
Whirlwind Renewables, based in northern England, has been involved in onshore wind projects over the last decade, and owns and operates several wind energy projects.
The funding from Clydesdale Bank comprises a £12.75 million loan plus ancillary facilities of £8 million. This is the bank’s seventh such project finance deal in the past six months.
Tom Surman, Director, Whirlwind Renewables, said: “We have a wide range of experience developing onshore wind projects of all sizes, and we are delighted that we are about to commence construction on Achlachan Wind Farm.
“We have been active in Caithness since 2007 and have been fortunate to receive the support from the local community.
“We have met with a number of local residents living close to the project to discuss our plans, which helped us develop the project. We also asked for views on where community benefit payments could be made by the wind farm, which will amount to around £50,000 a year.”
23 Feb 2018
Pixie Energy is an incubator and a facilitator of strategic research and project work, focusing on energy regulation, policy and markets at the local and national level. Find out more about Pixie Energy