Swedish energy company Vattenfall has received permission from the Scottish government for the construction of a 170MW wind farm in in the South West Scotland.

The onshore wind farm that goes by the name South Kyle will feature 50 turbines with a maximum hub height of 149m. The wind farm is expected to be completed and start generating power in 2021.

Vattenfall applied for permission for construction back in 2013 and it received the permission recently.

The Swedish state-owned company still needs to take investment decision for the project.

The South Kyle wind farm is expected to make significant contribution to the company’s objectives of setting up renewable energy projects in Scotland and to contribute towards reducing carbon emissions in the country.

Vattenfall said that wind farm is perhaps the first in the UK to secure community investment and is inline with Scottish government’s guidance and the company’s own partnering principles.

The company claims that it will offer the East Ayrshire and north Galloway communities, a right to acquire an interest of up to 5% in the multi-pound scheme and will provide the community benefit fund £5000 per MW installed per annum over the operational lifetime of the wind farm.

Apart from this, the company stated that it will continue to engage with local supply chain to explore business opportunities in the scheme. Vattenfall claims that nearly 150 local businesses have registered to show their interest in the South Kyle Wind Farm.

Vattenfall UK Onshore Wind Development the Head Guy Mortimer said: “Gaining planning permission from the Scottish Government for a large onshore wind farm like South Kyle is a big achievement.

“The decision and the process up to this point is not without risk and so this successful outcome is testament to the highly skilled and experienced team who charted this project through occasional choppy water.”

Vattenfall Business Area Wind head Gunnar Groebler said: “We should not underestimate what it takes to get a planning permission for such a big onshore wind farm. I would like to congratulate the whole team for getting the project to this stage.

“There is strength in Vattenfall’s UK onshore wind pipeline – even if there are some regulatory issues we have to consider – and I am confident that we will realise our UK potential and support delivery of our 2025 target: to triple our installed capacity of wind power to 7 gigawatts.”


Image: Vattenfall receives permission for the construction of 170MW wind farm in the North Sea. Photo: Courtesy of Mark Alan/FreeImages.com.