Wind consent

10 August 2009

The Scottish government has given consent to two wind-farm developments capable of supplying energy to approximately 43,000 homes.

The 29-turbine Berry Burn wind farm, on the Altyre Estate near Forres, will have a capacity of 78MW while the six-turbine extension to the 20-turbine Millennium wind farm near Fort Augustus will increase the capacity by 15MW to 65MW.

Combined, the schemes will employ around 100 people during construction and provide five full-time jobs.

Energy minister Jim Mather, said: ‘Our comprehensive climate-change laws demand that we continue to support good projects that reduce emissions and help Scotland become a global role model for a sustainable, low-carbon economy.'

Scottish government targets are to meet 50 per cent of electricity demand from renewables by 2020, and an interim target of 31 per cent by 2011.

So far, the total installed renewables capacity in Scotland is more than 3GW. A further 3GW of renewables capacity has either been consented by the Scottish government or local authorities, or is under construction. More than 3GW is currently in the planning process.