Work starts at Whitlelee Windfarm

Construction started today on the biggest onshore windfarm in Europe. The £300m Whitelee Windfarm will feature 140 turbines on the hills of Eaglesham Moor, south of Glasgow.

The project is being carried out by a joint venture comprising Morrison Construction Services and Balfour Kilpatrick, known as MBK JV, for client ScottishPower.

The windfarm will generate energy to power 200,000 homes. Alastair Darling, trade and industry secretary, said the initiative would save 250,000 tonnes of CO2 a year.

He said: “Scotland has long been the UK’s powerhouse and is now establishing itself in the vanguard of renewables. 16% of Scotland’s electricity already comes from these sources, compared to 4% for the UK as a whole."

ScottishPower chief executive Philip Bowman said: “Whitelee is no the end of the story. If we are to deliver more clean energy... we really have got to keep up the momentum on the other big onshore windfarms in Scotland which are currently in planning.”

The government also today began its consulatation on how to achieve its target of 20% of the UK's electricity coming from renewables by 2020, set out in the Energy Review. It is seeking views from industry, investors and other stakeholders.