Scottish Power begins building Britain’s third biggest wind parc to house 96 Spanish turbines

By DARA BUTTERFIELD

Construction work has now begun at the £300 million Kilgallioch wind farm near Barrhill in South Ayrshire, where Scottish Power Renewables has started building 30-miles of tracks across the site that will link the 96 turbines on the project.

When fully operational in 2017, Kilgallioch will have a capacity of 239 megawatts (MW), generating enough renewable electricity to power the equivalent of 130,000 households per year, and becoming the UK’s third largest onshore windfarm.

Over the anticipated 25 year lifespan of the project, just under £30 million is to be made available to support local projects as part of the community benefit fund for the windfarm. Scottish Power Renewables is already working with local community groups in relation to the fund, and over 250 jobs are to be supported by the windfarm during construction

Stuart Mason, Construction Director, said: “Kilgallioch is a major renewable energy development and a significant construction project. As well as making an important contribution to Scotland’s carbon reduction targets, tens of millions of pounds will go towards supporting community projects in the vicinity of the windfarm.

“This will be Scottish Power Renewables’ second largest windfarm, and the third largest overall in the UK. We currently have more than 1.5 gigawatts (GW) of installed onshore wind capacity in the UK, and Kilgallioch will help us on our way to achieving a 2 GW milestone – enough to power over 1 million homes.”

Scottish Power Renewables first started consultation on Kilgallioch in 2008 before submitting a planning application to the Scottish Government in March 2010.

The first turbine deliveries are expected to begin in February 2016 – supplied by Spanish manufacturer Gamesa – with first power production due in November 2016, followed by full operation of the site in the first half of 2017.