ScottishPower Renewables (Scottish Power) is planning to construct 45 additional turbines at its Whitelee wind farm on Eaglesham Moor in Europe. ScottishPower aims to generate 614 megawatt of electricity, enough power to supply every home in Glasgow. The company will submit an application for 45 more turbines, each with three blades and about 140m high, to Scottish ministers in spring or summer 2009.
ScottishPower will present extension plans to local residents at a series of public open days this week.
In 2006, the Scottish Executive has given approval for 140 turbines at the site south of East Kilbride, with ScottishPower applying in April, 2008 for permission to build an additional 36 turbines.
A spokesman for the company said: Extensive investigations have identified Whitelee as an excellent site for the harvesting of renewable energy in terms of technical, planning and environmental criteria”.
Wind energy provides us with a clean, safe, sustainable energy source enabling us to reduce these damaging emissions and protect our environment.
ScottishPower is carrying out an environmental impact assessment as part of its application to expand the Whitelee development but some environmental groups have already expressed concerns at the scale of the project.
Davie Black of Ramblers Scotland said: These turbines are so big that they are visible over a very wide area.
There is a fear that if developments like Whitelee are allowed to expand then a lot of the hillsides across Scotland will end up covered, and you will not be able to get the long open views that you expect in Scotland because of these turbines popping up.
Closing-off
Black added: We are also concerned about the closing-off of large areas of the countryside while these developments are being built.
Once they open up the public are allowed access but when the original turbines were being constructed at Whitelee they closed off all 55 sq km.
What we are asking for is planning conditions to ensure that only the small area where work is taking place is closed off temporarily and the rest should remain open.