Renewable energy company, Eneco, launched its second wind farm near Laurencekirk in Aberdeenshire. Twinshiels Wind Farm, as it is now to be known, is a 10 turbine, 25MW development with a capacity to generate energy to power 14,000 homes. It adjoins Eneco’s Tullo Wind Farm – a seven turbine, 17MW development that has been in operation since 2010.
Combined, the two wind farms have the capacity to power up to 24,000 homes and this brings the number of wind farm developments Eneco is involved with in Scotland to five. Built at a cost of £26m and taking two years to construct, Eneco’s investment has brought significant benefits to the community. These include: improvements to the road network, contracts awarded to local companies to the value of £1.3m, locally-sourced construction materials and a commitment to a Community Benefit Fund valued at £86,000 per year for the lifetime of the two developments – Tullo and Twinshiels. The wind farm was officially opened on 10 September, by Eneco’s UK director, Guy Madgwick, and sustainability expert, Leo Johnson. Also attending the launch was a number of local dignitaries and special guests, the South Mearns Explorer Scout Group who unveiled the new name of the wind farm – Twinshiels.
Guy Madgwick, UK director, said: “Twinshiels is a significant achievement in Eneco’s ambition to create sustainable energy for Scotland. Building on the success of Tullo Wind Farm, we continued to work with the local community to shape our innovative approach to The Community Benefit Fund, which is already making a positive difference. We are pleased to be working with The Mearns Area Partnership (MAP) to facilitate more ambitious projects going forward.”
Pieter Tavenier, director, Eneco Wind, said: “Eneco shares the Scottish Government’s aspiration for power generation from renewable sources and we have made some big steps, including our investment in the Lochluichart Wind Farm, to ensure that this aspiration becomes a reality for Eneco’s future energy supply. We feel the key to achieving this will be to ensure there is strong local collaboration and opportunities within the communities surrounding our assets.”
