EuropeÔÇÖs largest wind farm to be expanded

Europe's largest onshore wind farm, the 140- turbine Whitelee wind farm on Eaglesham Moor in East Renfrewshire, is to be expanded further, Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond has announced. ┬á Salmond said developers ScottishPower Renewables had been given permission to add a further 36 turbines to the site, allowing the ┬ú300 million wind farm to power 250,000 homes and potentially create up to 300 jobs. ┬á The first minister officially connected the wind farm, which covers an area about the size of Glasgow city centre, to the National Grid in a ceremony alongside Ignacio Galan, chairman and chief executive of Iberdrola, the Spanish owners of ScottishPower. ┬á Each turbine at Whitelee, which started producing electricity in January 2008, stands 110m high, and pending the Scottish GovernmentÔÇÖs approval, the extension would give the wind farm a total power capacity of 452 megawatts. ┬á "Whitelee in its current form is already flying the flag for onshore wind power in Europe,ÔÇØ said Salmond.┬á "The planned extension, which I am delighted to announce today, will enable the wind farm to harness its comparative and competitive advantage in wind generated energy within Europe. It has the infrastructure, the expertise and the capacity to continue to develop in the future." ┬á Director of ScottishPower Renewables Keith Anderson said Whitelee was a landmark for the country because of its size and scale. ┬á┬á Anderson said, "This is now the first over 300 megawatt wind farm in the United Kingdom and we believe others will follow." ┬á However, more work is needed on infrastructure to develop the industry, particularly to improve power grid connections and capacity to handle even larger offshore wind farms and wave and tidal projects, according to Anderson.┬á A ┬ú2 million visitor centre is also planned at Whitelee and the wind farm is due to be fully opened to the public, walkers, cyclists and ramblers this summer. ┬á Efforts have also taken place to promote blanket bog and moorland regeneration, with the removal of more than two million non-native conifers and work to promote black and red grouse and upland wildlife. ┬á Dave Morris, director of Ramblers Scotland, said the scale of the wind farm may be justified as it would "make a significant contribution to the development of Scotland's renewable energy capacity".