ScottishPower this week submitted plans to Argyll and Bute Council for a windfarm at Beinn an Tuirc in mid-Kintyre.

The plans, which take the form of a detailed assessment of the project's impact on the environment, incorporate comments made by local residents, the council, Scottish Natural Heritage and other organisations during extensive consultations last year, when surveys showed the great majority of local people to be in favour of the project.

Following modifications to the layout, the turbines - 40m high with blades up to 48m in diameter - can now be seen from only a short stretch of the road near Glenbarr, and from Carradale village only one or two are now visible.

Changes have also been made to ensure that the windfarm does not encroach on the scenic views of the peninsula from the beauty spot at Saddell Glen.

The £20 million project will create around 60 jobs during construction and generate more than £100,000 each year for the local economy.

The windfarm will consist of fifty turbines and be capable of generating more electricity than any other in the UK, due to a combination of favourable wind conditions, turbine number and location and utilisation of modern design.

When the wind blows the 30 Megawatt windfarm - which is capable of supplying 26,000 homes - will comfortably meet the energy needs of the local population with a surplus for export via the peninsula's main electricity line to the national grid further north. On the rare calm days electricity will be fed in from the grid.

The site, which takes up 1680 acres, was among the best of the 200 ScottishPower surveyed for wind conditions and visibility. In addition the nearest dwelling is more than 2 km away, well out of hearing range.

The Kintyre project will bring the company's windpower capacity to around 100 MW and by replacing more conventional forms of generation will lead to an annual saving in emissions to the atmosphere of around 90,000 tonnes of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, plus 870 tonnes of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, constituents of acid rain.

Currently ScottishPower has full or part ownership of eight windfarms throughout the UK and is one of the major windfarm developers in Europe.

Further Information:
Gordon Laidlaw,            ScottishPower Press Office              0141 248 8200