By Scott McCulloch
The Scottish Government has approved plans for a 22-turbine wind farm
development in West Lothian.
The Harburnhead development, near West Calder, is expected will support up
to 80 jobs during construction, and when complete will have a generating
capacity of up to 66 megawatts of electricity – enough to power the
equivalent of up to 31,000 homes.
Developer, Enel Viento S.L, in partnership with West Calder and Harburn
Community Development Trust, has agreed to provide a community fund to
support local projects throughout the operational life of the wind farm.
Energy Minister Fergus Ewing has also rejected a planning application for
the proposed 21-turbine Fauch Hill wind farm, also near West Calder, on the
grounds of unacceptable adverse visual and landscape impacts.
Ewing said: “The Harburnhead wind farm will create jobs both in its
construction and during its lifetime, and will be able to produce enough
electricity to power the equivalent of 31,000 homes in West Lothian.
“The community fund that has been offered by the developer will bring
considerable benefits to the local community.
“Scotland is already providing over a third of the UK’s renewable
electricity generation and helping to keep the lights on across our islands
at a time where there is an increasingly tight gap between electricity
supply and demand.
“We want to see the right developments in the right places, and that is why
I have refused permission for the proposed wind farm at Fauch Hill, which I
consider would have brought unacceptable impacts on the landscape,
particularly the Pentland hills.”
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