Wind News

Friday 19 February 2010

Whitelee has been granted consent for two major extensions to the site, which will increase its output to 593MW

ScottishPower Renewables has announced that it nearly doubled its wind output from its 23 operational wind farms during 2009.

The Spanish-owned company claims to have produced just over 1.7 million megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity, which amounts to a rise of 43.8% on the 2008 figures.

During 2009 the company completed construction at Europe's largest onshore wind farm, Whitelee, near Glasgow. The Scottish Government has since granted planning consent for two major extensions to the site, which will increase the maximum output from the wind farm to 593MW (see this NewEnergyFocus.com story), giving credence to the company's claim of being the largest developer and generator of onshore wind power in the UK.

Last month, in partnership with Vattenfall, ScottishPower Renewables was awarded the rights to develop a major offshore windfarm off the coast of East Anglia by The Crown Estate (see this NewEnergyFocus.com story), which is thought to have the potential to produce up to 7.2GW of electricity.

The company is currently developing its first offshore windfarm, with a two-thirds stake in the 500MW West of Duddon Sands project, as well as holding the development rights to a site west of Argyll and the island of Tiree, which it claimed could generate anywhere between 500MW to 1800MW of electricity.

Iberdrola Renovables, SPR's parent company, also revealed that it produced a combined 21.5 million MWh of renewable energy during 2009, an increase of 26% on the previous year.

Of the total, 20.9 million MWh are produced by the company's windfarms - mostly in Spain and the U.S.A - and 560,000 MWh at its small-scale hydro plants and 21,000 MWh from other technologies.

Keith Anderson, director of ScottishPower Renewables, said that 2009 was a "landmark year" for the company.

"Not only did we complete the largest windfarm in Europe, but we also laid the foundations for our expansion into offshore wind," he said.

"We ended the year with a pipeline of over 5,000MW and have already announced our ambitions to co-develop the 7200 MW East Anglia Array offshore project. As part of the largest wind energy company in the world, ScottishPower Renewables has the support and ambition to continue to be a leader in renewable energy in the UK."