A new onshore wind farm, with a generation capacity of 36MW, has been given the green light by South Lanarkshire Council.
The Mill Rig Wind Farm will be located near Darvel in East Ayrshire. It will feature six wind turbines, set to produce enough clean electricity to meet the needs of roughly 21,000 homes, or all of the homes in a town the size of East Kilbride.
The £40m onshore wind project from Banks Renewables will reportedly displace over 18,000 tonnes of CO2 each year and create up to £5.4m in revenue over its thirty-year lifetime (£180k each year), with the local community benefiting from service contracts worth nearly £12m during construction and £18m of business rates thereafter.
Robin Winstanley, sustainability and external affairs manager at Banks Renewables , said:
“To gain planning permission is a major milestone for Mill Rig. The development will bring many social, environmental and community benefits to the local area and we’re delighted South Lanarkshire Council has approved these exciting plans.”
“By working closely with the surrounding community, this project will help Scotland generate much needed clean, green electricity as well as providing local people and groups with funding to support the growth of important initiatives that benefit the communities close to Mill Rig Wind Farm.
“With the next steps of detailed design and construction, Mill Rig Wind Farm is on track to help Scotland achieve its ambitious net zero targets, bolstering the UK’s energy security by producing green electricity by 2025.”
Once completed the project will be the fourth onshore wind farm the company has developed in Scotland, and follows approval received for Lethans and Kype Muir projects approved in the last 3 years.
