Europe’s Largest Single Onshore Windfarm to be Built in Scotland
by Matthew McDermott, Brooklyn, NY on 07.21.08
photo by Hugh Gray
A couple of weeks ago we reported on how a series of interconnected wind farms in northern Sweden has been planned and that the project, at a total capacity of 3-3.5 gigawatts, is claiming bragging rights as Europe’s largest wind farm. I won’t get into parsing the logic of 'when does calling something the largest x?' become an exercise in semantics rather than measurement, but the project will be nevertheless big. Based on news reported by the BBC however, Scotland will for a time be able to claim another largest, and this one is more straight measurement than classification: Europe’s largest single onshore windfarm.
Clyde Wind Farm Gets Approval
Scottish ministers have approved the 152-turbine, 456 megawatt Clyde Wind Farm, to be built alongside the M74 motorway near Abington. Construction is scheduled to begin next year and all phases of the project to be completed by 2011. The project is expected to cost £600 million and will create 200 jobs during construction, with 30 remaining once the project is operational.Scottish and Southern Energy, the project’s developer, estimates that the windfarm will produce enough electricity to power 320,000 homes.
Speaking about the project, First Minister Alex Salmond said, “The Clyde windfarm will represent a very important step in the development of renewable energy in Scotland and in meeting shared European targets.” Scotland has a renewable energy target of generating 50% of all its energy from renewable sources by 2020.
NOTE: While the BBC has reported that the total size of the project will be 548 MW, Scottish and Southern Energy itself reports a total capacity of 456 MW. The BBC’s figure was based off a recent statement given at the World Renewable Energy Congress by First Minister Salmond, who perhaps mispoke when giving the Clyde wind farm’s size. That seems more plausible than the project’s developer mistating its size in its press release.
via :: BBC News and Scottish and Southern Energy
Europe, Wind Power
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"an exercise in semantics rather than measurement" [...] "Scotland will for a time be able to claim another largest, and this one is more straight measurement than classification: Europe’s largest single onshore windfarm."
That's okay, because Scotland isn't generally considered to be part of Europe, although it's in the European Union. French Guyana in South America shares the same distinction. :)
And since when has French Guyana been on the continent of Europe? It aint, but Scotland, however, is.
It was interesting to see this article about an offshore wind farm near Scotland. As I was watching the Bristish Open and seeing the impact the wind had on play at the Open I kept thinking that this would be a wonderful site for an offshore wind project.