Jump to content

Whitelee Wind Farm

Coordinates: 55°40′22″N 4°17′08″W / 55.6728°N 4.2856°W / 55.6728; -4.2856
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 212.219.247.151 (talk) at 14:16, 21 January 2014. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Whitelee Wind Farm
Whitelee wind farm with the Isle of Arran in the background
Map
CountryScotland
Coordinates55°40′22″N 4°17′08″W / 55.6728°N 4.2856°W / 55.6728; -4.2856
StatusOperational
Commission dateMay 2009
Owner(s)Scottish Power
Wind farm
Typeonshore
Rotor diameter
  • 93 m (305 ft)
Power generation
Units operational6 × 1.67 MW
140 × 2.3 MW
69 × 3 MW
Make and modelGE Renewable Energy ECO 100 (69)
GE Renewable Energy ECO 74 (6)
Siemens Gamesa SWT-2.3-82 VS (40)
Siemens Gamesa SWT-2.3-93 (100)
Nameplate capacity
  • 539 MW
External links
Websitewww.whiteleewindfarm.co.uk
CommonsRelated media on Commons
[edit on Wikidata]

Whitelee Wind Farm is the largest on-shore wind farm in the United Kingdom (second in Europe to Fântânele-Cogealac, in Romania) with 215 Siemens and Alstom wind turbines and a total capacity of 539 megawatts (MW).[2] Whitelee was developed and is operated by ScottishPower Renewables,[3] which is part of the Spanish company Iberdrola.[4]

The Scottish government had a target of generating 31% of Scotland's electricity from renewable energy by 2011 and 100% by 2020. The majority of this is likely to come from wind power.[5]

Description

Positioned 300 metres (985 feet) above sea level and 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) outside Glasgow, Scotland’s largest city, the wind farm has over half a million people living within a 30 km radius. This makes Whitelee one of the first large-scale wind farms to be developed close to a centre of population.[5] In May 2009, Whitelee was officially opened to the public by Alex Salmond MSP, First Minister for Scotland.[6] However, Whitelee was generating power long before this with the first phase of the wind farm supplying power to the electricity grid in January 2008.

In May 2009, the Scottish Government granted permission for an extension to the wind farm to produce up to a further 130 megawatts of power,[7] which would increase the total generating capacity of Whitelee to 452 MW.[8] There is also the potential to increase the generating capacity once again by 140 megawatts. This would give Whitelee the potential to generate almost 600 megawatts of renewable energy.[8]

On 19 March 2010 a blade snapped off a turbine, resulting in temporary suspension of operations until safety checks were completed. Following the accident Keith Anderson, managing director of ScottishPower Renewables, said: "This type of incident is exceptionally rare and highly unusual."[9]

In 2011 ScottishPower Renewables appointed the joint venture of John Sisk and Son Limited and Roadbridge, as the main contractor for an extension to Whiteleee. Located to the east of the existing Whitelee Windfarm, the 75 turbine extension was planned to increase the generating capacity of the windfarm to 539MW. Turbine deliveries were planned for July 2011, with the windfarm expected to be complete in May 2012.[10]

Public access and visitor centre

See also: Wind turbines on public display

Whitelee has become an eco-tourist attraction aided by an on site visitor centre. The visitor centre is host to an interactive exhibition room, cafe, shop and education hub. It was officially opened to the public in September 2009.[11] The visitor centre also give access to a network of over 90 km of paths for cyclists, ramblers and horse riders.[12] The visitor centre is managed by Glasgow Science Centre and offers activities for education and community groups.[11] There is also a dedicated - free - electric vehicle charging station.

Whitelee wind farm has a Countryside Ranger Service operted jointly by East Renfrewshire and South Lanarkshire councils that works to promote and develop access opportunities for the public within the wind farm and wider area, as well as operating an annual program of free activities and events open to the public. The Whitelee Countryside Ranger Service also work to encourage and assist community and charity organisations to make use of the access opportunities within the wind farm for fundraising and charity events. The ranger service forms part of the Whitelee Access Planning Group which is made up of the wind farm operators, land owners, the three local authorities the wind farm comes within, local community groups and other interested parties to the site.

The Whitelee Access Planning Group are developing plans for a purpose built single track mountain bike course. The development will use a former borrow pit, created to supply stone during construction of the windfarm. The site lies just 500m from the popular Whitelee visitor centre. This exciting development is being led by East Renfrewshire Council on behalf of the Whitelee Access Planning Group. The unique track design has been created by Phil Saxena of Architrail Ltd – renowned designer of the 2008 Beijing Olympic and 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games XC courses.

The project has followed strong public demand for more technical MTB facilities at Whitelee. Its setting within Europe’s largest onshore windfarm will make it unique amongst trail centres. The plans will provide graded trails to suit a wide range of users, from beginners to more experienced riders. Careful design will deliver a course with a mix of route options, technical sections and challenges. The facilities will extend across an area of approximately 12 hect

In June 2012, Whitelee wind farm became the first wind energy project in Scotland to join the Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions. The management took the decision after nearly 250,000 people had visited the site since its opening since July 2009. ScottishPower Renewables said that nearly 10,000 pupils had so far visited Whitelee on school trips. In addition, at least "another 100,000 people had accessed the wind farm's 90km (56 miles) of trails for recreational purposes such as jogging and cycling".[13]

Extensions

Whitelee Windfarm currently has a 75 turbine extension under construction. This will add an additional 217 MW of capacity, enough to power the equivalent of over 124,000 homes. This will bring the total generating capacity of the wind farm up to 539 MW. Work on this new development commenced in November 2010, with the completion date extended from December 2012 to March 2013. Additionally, the new extension will add a further 44 km of trails to the site. John Sisk and Son Limited and Roadbridge were jointly appointed as Principal Contractors for the site during construction with Alstom Limited erecting and commissioning the wind turbines.[14]

In August 2012 Scottish Power announced that it was applying for a further small extension of five turbines on the west of the existing site, adding 12 MW of capacity.[15]

Mascot

In 2010 "Wally the Wind Turbine" was unveiled as a character to welcome visitors to the wind farm. He is not yet featured in any promotional materials, though there are costumed characters at the site.

See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.east-ayrshire.gov.uk/CommunityLifeAndLeisure/CountrysideFacilitiesAndWildlife/CountrysideAndLeisure/WhiteleeWindfarm.aspx
  2. ^ http://www.whiteleewindfarm.co.uk/about_windfarm?nav Whitelee Windfarm
  3. ^ http://www.scottishpowerrenewables.com/
  4. ^ http://www.iberdrola.es/
  5. ^ a b Europe's Largest Onshore Wind Farm Is Switched on in Scotland
  6. ^ Whitelee Windfarm Officially Opened http://www.scottishpowerrenewables.com/pages/press_releases.asp?article=47&date_year=2009
  7. ^ Largest wind farm to be expanded. BBC News 20 May 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-25
  8. ^ a b Iberdrola press release dated 20 May 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-25
  9. ^ Blade snaps off huge wind turbine. BBC News 23 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-23
  10. ^ SPR awards Whitelee Extension Contract [1] Retrieved 2014-01-07
  11. ^ a b BBC News "Wind farm education centre opens" Retrieved 2009-09-21
  12. ^ BBC News "Visitor centre showcases windfarm" Retrieved 2009-08-26
  13. ^ "Whitelee Wind Farm joins major tourist attractions body". BBC News. 20 June 2012.
  14. ^ "SPR Awards Whitelee Extension Contract". Whitelee Wind Farm. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  15. ^ BBC News "Scottish Power wants Whitelee wind farm third extension" Retrieved 2012-09-17
A panoramic view of the Whitelee wind farm with Lochgoin Reservoir in the foreground.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Whitelee Wind Farm.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Whitelee_Wind_Farm&oldid=591715841"