Monday 2 September 2019

Scottish developer breaks ground on subsidy-free onshore wind farm

A 46MW onshore wind farm in Scotland has joined the race to become the first subsidy-free project of its kind in the country.

Muirhall Energy has partnered with WWS Renewables to develop the 46MW Crossdykes Wind Farm in Dumfries and Galloway in south west Scotland.

The wind farm, funded by Close Brothers Leasing, will consist of 10 turbines, supplied by Nordex, which are expected to generate enough electricity to power nearly 45,000 homes.

First power from the project is scheduled to be generated in September 2020.

Chris Walker, Managing Director of Muirhall Energy said: “We are delighted to be starting construction on what will be one of the first subsidy-free developments to come online in the UK.

“However, access to the Contract for Difference or some other support mechanism would make a huge difference to the economics of the sector, encouraging the build-out of some of the more challenging consented sites, therefore ensuring onshore wind makes the biggest possible contribution to meeting our net zero climate change targets whilst keeping bills down for consumers.”

Muirhall has offered the local community the chance to buy up to 10% of the project via a community share offer, with local groups currently assessing how best to invest in the onshore wind farm.

Scottish Energy, Connectivity and the Islands Minister Paul Wheelhouse welcomed the project.

He said: “This is a landmark moment for onshore wind in Scotland, in fulfilling a key policy objective we set within Scotland’s Energy Strategy and I very much hope this will be followed by many more similar developments as we seek to address the climate emergency.

“The Scottish Government strongly supports onshore wind and recognises the positive role it plays in our energy mix, net zero ambitions and to our economy. A price-stabilisation mechanism would allow far more onshore wind projects like Crossdykes to be fully realised and allow more consumers access to the cheapest form of electricity generation at scale.

"UK Government must re-consider the exclusion of ‘established technologies’ from the Contract for Difference auctions framework in order to deliver the significant benefits onshore wind can offer.”