ScottishPower’s application for the Whitelee wind farm project near Glasgow, has been given planning consent under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989.

When built, Whitelee will have a capacity to generate 322MW of electricity, enough to power nearly every home in Glasgow, and will provide over 11% of the 2010 Scottish Executive’s renewable energy target (18% of all electricity generation in Scotland), and 2.4% of the UK wide target for 10% of electricity generation from renewables by 2010.

Chief executive of the British Wind Energy Association, Marcus Rand said: “This fantastic news is a further sign that onshore wind is delivering and should give confidence to the Government to commit to expanding the role of wind and renewables in the ongoing Energy Review.

“Wind, both on and offshore, represents our best chance of delivering significant quantities of carbon-free power by 2015, and this project will be an essential part of that delivery.”

Chief executive of Scottish Renewables Maf Smith added: “This is a tremendous boost for the Scottish renewables industry, and a shot in the arm for Scotland’s economy and environment. This development alone will provide jobs, generate affordable, clean, green electricity on a scale hitherto unheard of in Scotland or indeed the UK and Europe, and take a big step forward in reducing Scotland’s harmful carbon emissions.”

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