Scottish Water to go renewable with 18 turbine wind farm

Scottish Water is planning to construct a 54MW wind farm on its land at the Backwater Reservoir in Angus, Scotland as it attempts to become self-sufficient in its energy use.


The proposed 18 turbine wind farm has the capacity to generate 142GWh a year, which amounts to almost a third of Scottish Water’s 445GWh annual energy requirement. 

 Energy company Eneco Wind UK has won the contract to work with Scottish Water to investigate and develop all appropriate opportunities on the utility’s land and assets to build a wide range of renewable energy projects. 

A period of comprehensive public and stakeholder consultation will now take place and the outcome will go some way in determining the overall scale and design of the proposed wind farm.

Scottish Water commercial director Chris Banks believes that as one of Scotland’s biggest consumers of electricity, the generation of renewable energy is a natural fit for the company.

He said: “We want to become increasingly energy efficient while helping to meet Scotland’s ambitious renewable energy targets. That’s why we are exploring the feasibility of renewable energy development on suitable Scottish Water land.

“Macritch Hill in Angus is a site which has been identified for possible development and has the potential to generate up to a third of Scottish Water’s annual energy requirement.

“The more Scottish Water commits to renewable generation on its own assets at stable future prices the more efficient we become and that can only be good for all our customers across Scotland.”

Eneco were particularly eager to work on the project as it attempts to make a transition to becoming a wholly sustainable energy company by 2030.

Eneco Wind UK director Guy Madgwick said: “At present, Eneco is investing heavily in renewable projects which mirrors the strategy adopted by Scottish Water and at national level by the Scottish Government.

“As a company, we have an ambition to ensure that all the energy we produce will be completely sustainable by 2030 and it is through partnerships such as this that we hope to accelerate progress towards this goal.”

Conor McGlone

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