Work will start today on the third wind farm in Scotland to be built by Airtricity, the company chaired by former energy minister Brian Wilson.
Contracts have been signed for a 30-megawatt wind farm near Dalswinton, 17 kilometres north-west of Dumfries, with the three main contractors for the project Alan Baker, chief executive of Airtricity Scotland, said work would start on site later this week and the company expected the wind farm to be in operation producing green electricity in 12 months’ time.
He said: “The Dalswinton wind farm, and our other wind farm projects operating and in the pipeline in Scotland, will help the Scottish Executive meet the challenges of climate change and its ambitious target of 40% electricity generated by renewables by 2020.”
A key aspect of the project is a habitat management plan, which includes 50 hectares of heather planting. The company says it will make “a significant contribution to the council’s local bio-diversity plan, some 25% of the planned 200 acres of heather across Dumfries and Galloway.”
On completion, the farm will produce green electricity for around 18,000 homes, preventing the release of more than 63,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year.
REpowerUK, a joint venture of one of Germany’s leading wind turbine manufacturers REpower Systems and UK engineering company Peter Brotherhood, headquartered in Edinburgh, will supply and install the 15mw turbines and towers.
Carillion JM has been contracted for the civil infrastructure and electrical works and United Utilities Networks for the grid connection works.
SIMON BAIN
March 25 2007
theherald.co.uk
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2007/03/26/contracts-awarded-for-dalswinton-wind-farm/