ScottishPower today (Wednesday) submitted plans to the Scottish Executive for a £150 million windfarm at Whitelee Forest, near Eaglesham - comprising around 140 turbines and with the potential to provide green energy to 150,000 homes in west central Scotland.

If approved the 240 megawatt windfarm could be operational in 2003 and would be the biggest in Europe. It is a key part of ScottishPower's programme to install some 500MW of windpower over the next few years.

The planning application incorporates major changes following extensive consultation with the public, including 75 organisations and groups and the 300 people who attended a series of exhibitions on the proposals.

ScottishPower has committed to avoid Eaglesham during the construction by using the B764 which connects the site to the A77 and M77 west of the village, plus extending the existing network of forestry tracks using on-site materials to further reduce traffic volume.

The company has also decided to increase the distance between the turbines and the nearest communities, typically to in excess of 1km.

ScottishPower is working closely with landowners, including the Forestry Commission / Forest Enterprise and West of Scotland Water, to improve the 10 squ mile site as a community resource. A new area of moorland will be created and remaining forest restructured to provide a greater diversity of wildlife and habitats. Forestry Commission staff have worked closely with ScottishPower to design a scheme that safeguards Whitelee as a multi-purpose forest providing continued timber, access and environmental benefits into the future.
 
There are plans for a visitor centre, and greater public access through provision of footpaths and cycle-ways utilising the 40 or so miles of maintenance tracks. The centre will have a caf and meeting facilities, changing rooms for runners and cyclists, and the company also intends to run an electric tour bus on part of the site.
 
Whitelee is among the first windfarms to meet new guidelines for windfarm development set out by the Scottish Executive and Scottish Natural Heritage recommending large-scale projects in brownfield and or forested sites within the Central Belt. It was selected following an exhaustive process to identify the most promising windfarm sites in Scotland based on a range of environmental and technical criteria.
 
Development plans for the area identify the site as being suitable for windfarm development, with no especially sensitive ecological or landscape features.

The windfarm is also ideally located for supplying the central belt and will be connected to the local network via a new, 7km underground cable.
 
If approved, the windfarm would meet nearly one third of the Government's renewable energy targets for Scotland and cut annual emissions of CO2 by around 500,000 tonnes.
 
During the two-year construction period there will be around 300 local jobs created with some £12 million in construction contracts available. Local companies will be encouraged to tender for these contracts.
 
Alan Mortimer, ScottishPower's Head of Wind Development, said: "We are expanding our windfarm business throughout the UK and the Whitelee Forest windfarm will help us considerably to meet government requirements to provide 10 per cent of our generation from renewable sources.
 
"Our plans take into account a wide range of environmental and community sensitivities and at Whitelee we have sought not just to minimise the effects of the windfarm but also to enhance the local environment through improved wildlife habitats and access for public recreation", said Mr Mortimer.

"We have also widely advertised our plans over the past six months and have been pleased with the overall level of support we have experienced. Around 65 per cent of people who filled in a questionnaire at our exhibitions were in favour of Whitelee Forest as the site of a windfarm and 150 people have accepted our invitation to visit an operational windfarm", he added.
 
Commenting on the project, Friends of the Earth Scotland's Chief Executive, Kevin Dunion, said: "We welcome wind farm proposals which provide energy close to the point of use, and we are also pleased that this proposal allows for full community consultation."
 
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, another one of the environmental bodies consulted during the planning process, also backed the project. "We support the expansion of renewable energy generation in Scotland and have been pleased to advise ScottishPower on locational issues to avoid damaging key wildlife sites." said Stuart Housden, RSPB Director Scotland.
 
The application for planning permission will be decided by the Scottish Executive in consultation with the local councils, East Renfrewshire Council, South Lanarkshire Council and East Ayrshire Council, and members of the public.
 
ScottishPower will be holding further public exhibitions on its proposals in the near future. Meanwhile the full Environmental Statement and a non technical summary can be viewed at council offices in the area.

Further Information:
 
Gordon Laidlaw                                              0141-636-4552
Colin McSeveny                                              0141-636-4515