Danish engineer Vestas has landed an order to supply eight of its biggest turbines for the onshore Greengairs East wind farm near Caldercruix, south of Glasgow.
Lanark-based developer Muirhall Energy secured in September 2020 planning consent for an enlargement of its project, now at 36 MW.
Vestas will supply and install eight enhanced V136-4.5 MW turbines, with tips nearly 150 metres high. Their delivery and commissioning are planned for this year’s fourth quarter. The park’s output is projected to meet the needs of 32,000 homes.
The park’s approval has freed up local communities to receive a total of £4.8 m of community benefit funding over Greengairs’ 25 year life, or around £192,000 every year. The bonus will be split equally amongst the communities of Greengairs, Plains, Caldercruix, Longriggend and Upperton.
The site’s planning application was bid originally smaller but was re-submitted to take advantage of Vestas’ larger turbines.
Muirhall is bidding for three other Scots onshore farms, adding to its seven sites already generating or consented.
Sarah McIntosh, the developer’s managing director, commented: “We are delighted to take this project forward with Vestas as our turbine partners.
“Greengairs East is an exciting project that will deliver not only renewable electricity but a significant and much needed investment to the local community”.
Today’s deal strengthens Vestas’ presence in the UK. It has installed more than 2,400 wind turbines with a total capacity of approximately 7.1 GW.
Meanwhile shareholders of rival turbine builder Siemens Gamesa yesterday ratified the appointment of their new CEO Jochen Eickholt, tasked to return the struggling manufacturer to profitability.
Supply chain disruption and higher logistic and material costs have hit the Spanish-German enterprise harder than its rivals, including GE and Vestas.
Pictured above, Eickholt told yesterday’s AGM in Bilbao: “The world needs to install much more wind energy and at a faster rate than in previous decades.
“It is our duty to embrace that challenge and strive to extract the most from wind energy in the years ahead. I believe we have the right mix of people and technology at Siemens Gamesa to help us do just that.”
Employing 26,000 people and having installed 120 GW worldwide, Siemens Gamesa believes it is on track to regain its crown as a sustainability leader. The company is listed in the 99th percentile of the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes, ranking second out of 126 companies in the sector.
