Construction begins on largest wind farm in Europe; aims to power 200,000 homes

Tuesday, October 10, 2006 by: Ben Kage
Tags: wind energy, wind farm, green energy

https://www.naturalnews.com/020706_wind_energy_farm.html

Tweet

---

The project involves the construction of 140 wind turbines on Eaglesham Moor, south of Glasgow, Scotland. The 300-million-pound (more than $562 million) wind farm will generate 322 megawatts of electricity -- enough to power 200,000 homes -- officials said.

Projections say that Scottish Power will complete construction of the wind farm in about three years, and it will be roughly three times the size of the current biggest wind farm in Europe, located in Blacklaw, South Lanarkshire, Scotland.

The size and location of the new farm spurred opposition from the Eaglesham Community Council, but local authorities did not object to the project.

"As Europe's largest onshore wind farm, Whitelee represents a great step forward for the UK in tackling climate change, and is crucial to meeting the government's targets for green energy," said Scottish Power Chief Executive Philip Bowman.

Darling launched the Whitelee project as part of a U.K.-wide consultation on renewable energy that aims to secure energy supplies and deal with climate change.

"Scotland has long been the UK's powerhouse and is now establishing itself in the vanguard on renewables," he said. "Some 16 percent of Scotland's electricity already comes from these sources, compared to 4 percent for the U.K. as a whole, and Whitelee will save a further 250,000 (metric) tonnes of harmful CO2 every year."

###