The Clyde Wind Farm is a 522

megawatt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units, International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), ...

(MW)

wind farm A wind farm or wind park, also called a wind power station or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used Wind power, to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundre ...

near Abington in

South Lanarkshire gd, Siorrachd Lannraig a Deas , image_skyline = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms_slanarkshire.jpg , image_blank_emblem = Slanarks.jpg , blank_emblem_type = Council logo , image_map ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Planning

The first stage of the project consists of 152-turbines by

Scottish and Southern Energy SSE plc (formerly Scottish and Southern Energy plc) is a multinational energy company headquartered in Perth, Scotland Perth (Scottish English, locally: ; gd, Peairt ) is a city in central Scotland, on the banks of the River Tay. It is th ...

and was approved by the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyro ...

in July 2008. It is capable of powering 200,000 homes. SSE was given planning permission to build a wind farm with turbines built on either side of the

M74 motorway The A74(M) and M74 form a major motorway in Scotland, connecting it to England. The routes connect the M8 motorway in central Glasgow to the Scottish-English border at Gretna. In conjunction with their southward continuation, the M6 motorwa ...

Construction

Construction of the wind farm, which was budgeted for £600 million, began in early 2009 and finished in 2012. Welcon Towers Ltd won the contract to supply the towers for all 152 turbines for the £600 million Clyde Wind Farm. Jesper Øhlenschlæger, chief executive officer of Welcon Towers parent company Skykon, said: ‘The Clyde project is a very important business win for our Campbeltown manufacturing. Scotland has become the most positive and the most interesting renewable wind power market in Europe. The Clyde Wind Farm project represents a landmark phase in Scotland’s renewable energy strategy.’ The first stage of the farm was opened at a ceremonial ribbon cutting by

First Minister of Scotland The first minister of Scotland ( sco, heid meinister o Scotland; gd, prìomh mhinistear na h-Alba ) is the head of the Scottish Government and keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland. The first minister chairs ...

Alex Salmond Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond (; born 31 December 1954) is a Scottish politician and economist who served as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. A prominent figure on the Scottish nationalist movement, he has served as leader ...

in September 2012. Original Capacity was 349.6MW.

Extension

In July 2014 it was announced that Scottish ministers had approved an extension to the Clyde Wind Farm. The extension will see 54 extra turbines, capable of generating an additional 162MW. This will bring the total generating capacity of the wind farm to 512MW. The extension has been upgraded to 54 turbines with a 173MW capacity and was commissioned in the summer of 2017.

References

External links

SSE Clyde Project website

Map of the Clyde Wind Farm
{{Wind power in the United Kingdom Wind farms in Scotland Buildings and structures in South Lanarkshire

Planning

Construction

Extension

See also

References

External links