The £160m project features 68 Gamesa G87 and G80 wind turbines, with 2MW unit capacity each, and can produce enough renewable energy to meet the average electricity demands of over 73,000 homes while avoiding the emission of approximately 250,000t of CO2 into the atmosphere per year.
ScottishPower Renewables CEO Keith Anderson said onshore wind power continues to be a strong contributor to the UK’s economy while major projects Harestanes Windfarm supportshundreds of jobs.
"Harestanes is one of the largest onshore windfarms in Scotland, and it is fantastic to see the project fully completed after a number of years of planning and preparation," Anderson added.
"Over the lifetime of the project, we will need highly skilled technicians to operate and maintain the windfarm and millions of pounds will be invested in the local area."
The project site covers an area of 20 km2 in the Forest of Ae, managed by Forestry Commission Scotland, in south of Scotland near the city of Dumfries.
UK Energy, Enterprise and Tourism Minister Fergus Ewing said, "Projects like this provide considerable benefits to reducing our carbon emissions and play an important part in helping Scotland reach its target of 100 per cent of electricity demand generated from renewables as well as contributing to sustainable economic growth, investment and jobs."
Image: Iberdrola’s 136MW Harestanes wind farm in UK. Photo: courtesy of Scottish Power Ltd.
