The Diplomat
Iberdrola, through its subsidiary ScottishPower, will repower the ‘Hagshaw Hill’ onshore wind farm, one of the oldest in Britain, which will allow it to generate five times more ‘green’ electricity with almost half as many turbines, reports Europa Press.
The park, which has a total capacity of 16 megawatts (MW), will thus, with its 14 new and more powerful turbines – almost half of the current ones – to add an installed capacity of more than 79 MW once the repowering work is completed.
Operational since 1995, the Hagshaw Hill wind farm, located in South Lanarkshire, was at the forefront of wind energy production in Scotland, generating more than 895 megawatt hours (MWh) during its 28-year lifetime, the energy company said.
The repowering of Hagshaw Hill, Scotland’s first commercial wind farm, is part of ScottishPower Renewables’ strategy to maximise the efficiency of its existing projects by replacing older turbines with new, more powerful and efficient models.
The project is expected to sustain more than 100 jobs at its peak, and even more indirect opportunities during decommissioning and construction of the supply chain.
Work is currently underway to dismantle the turbines and prepare the site, for which the Scottish firm Forsyth of Denny was awarded the decommissioning contract. This decommissioning process will continue through the summer and early autumn and the first new turbines are expected to be delivered in May 2024. The new park should be fully operational in early 2025.
