Clyde Wind Farm

Clyde Wind Farm
Clyde Wind Farm
Country	United Kingdom, Scotland
Location	near Abington, South Lanarkshire
Coordinates	55°28′02″N 3°39′16″W / 55.4672°N 3.6544°W
Status	Operational
Commission date	2012
Owner(s)	Scottish and Southern Energy
Wind farm
Type	Onshore
Rotor diameter	82.4 m (270 ft);
Power generation
Units operational	152
Make and model	Siemens Gamesa SWT-2.3-82 VS (152); Siemens Gamesa SWT-3.2-101 (54)
Nameplate capacity	350 MW
External links
Commons	Related media on Commons
	[edit on Wikidata]

The Clyde Wind Farm is a 350 megawatt (MW) wind farm near Abington in South Lanarkshire, Scotland.

Planning

The 152-turbine project by Scottish and Southern Energy was approved by the Scottish Parliament in July 2008, and is capable of powering 200,000 homes.^[1] SSE was given planning permission to build a wind farm with turbines built on either side of the M74 motorway.^[2]

Construction

Construction of the wind farm, which was budgeted for £600 million, began in early 2009 and finished in 2012.^[3] Welcon Towers Ltd won the contract to supply the towers for all 152 turbines for the £600 million Clyde Wind Farm. Jesper Øhlenschlæger, chief executive officer of Welcon Towers parent company Skykon, said: ‘The Clyde project is a very important business win for our Campbeltown manufacturing. Scotland has become the most positive and the most interesting renewable wind power market in Europe. The Clyde Wind Farm project represents a landmark phase in Scotland’s renewable energy strategy.’^[4]

The farm was opened at a ceremonial ribbon cutting by First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond in September 2012.^[5]

Extension

In July 2014 it was announced that Scottish ministers had approved an extension to the Clyde Wind Farm.^[6] The extension will see 54 extra turbines, capable of generate an additional 162MW. This will bring the total generating capacity of the wind farm to 512MW.^[6]