East Ayrshire Windfarm on Former Coal Mine Site, Consented by Ministers
An application for a wind farm and battery storage facility on land west of New Cumnock, East Ayrshire has been granted consent by Scottish Ministers.
The permission, granted to REG Greenburn Limited to construct and operate Greenburn Wind Park under Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 was confirmed on 21.04.2023.
Located approximately 4.5 km to the west of New Cumnock, the wind park comprises 16 turbines with a capacity of 67.2MW, tip heights of 149.9 metres and a battery storage facility of 10MW, to help create a more flexible grid system. It will have a generating capacity in excess of 50 megawatts.
Copies of the decision statement and related documentation are published on the Energy Consents website www.energyconsents.scot; reference number ECU00002037.
The application was first lodged in early 2020, following an 18-month-long public consultation with local people, community organisations and businesses.
REG Greenburn has committed to paying £5,000 per MW of installed capacity into a community benefit fund. Based on the candidate turbines this could mean up to £336,000 a year/£11.8m over the 35-year lifetime of the wind farm, to be divided among the communities within 10km of the site.
REG Greenburn has worked with the 9CC Group – representing nine local community councils – to determine how the community benefit fund will be divided and allocated. An MOU is expected to be signed soon.
It is hoped that the funding will help support a variety of long-lasting initiatives and good causes including apprenticeships and training; local regeneration; open space improvements and support for local clubs and groups.
Key Facts
Number of turbines: 16 turbines
Size of turbines: A maximum tip height of 149.9m
Battery Storage: Battery storage is to be co-located with the wind farm to maximise the use of the grid connection
Lifespan: 35 years of operation
Current land use: Commercial Forestry (adjacent to the former open-cast coal mine)
Grid connection: Underground cables to a new substation, on-site
Speaking about the project, Melvyn McKeown, Project Manager for REG said how delighted they were to have been granted consent,
“We would like to thank everyone who helped us achieve this consent and we now look forward to working with local people on the next, exciting phase of this project to ensure that local communities benefit.
“The development will create direct and indirect economic benefits including the potential for local jobs during the construction period and a range of contracts that local firms will be encouraged to bid for. We will – in due course – hold a ‘meet the buyer ‘event so that we can maximise opportunities for local companies.”
For further information please contact REGGreenburn@pagodapr.com or phone Giselle Dye at Pagoda PR on 0131 5560770/07739 085023
Notes to Editors
About the project partners: REG Greenburn Limited is a joint venture between two well-established companies REG Power Management, established in2005, is a UK developer, owner and operator of renewable energy projects, having developed and built over 1GW of operational wind and solar projects and Electricity Supply Board (ESB), Ireland’s state-owned electricity utility company, will deliver the project. ESB has more than 7,000 employees and provides power to over 1.5 million customers.
For further information visit; www.greenburnwindpark.co.uk
For the decision statement and related documentation please visit the Energy Consents website at energyconsents.scot; reference numberECU00002037.