A 136 MW windfarm has been officially opened near Moffat, Dumfries and Galloway.

The £160m development will produce enough renewable energy to meet the average electricity demands of more than 730,000 homes, ScottishPower Renewables has said.

Over the last two years, the scheme has supported more than 150 jobs, 60 of which have been from the local community.

Covering an area of 20 km2, the 68-turbine Harestanes Windfarm is located in the Forest of Ae which is managed by Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS).

In addition to the turbines, construction work has also included a new operations and maintenance building, plus the creation of 11km of new tracks and paths which will be open to the public for recreational use. A new 4km trail has also been built on the 7stances cycle route, proving beneficial for mountain bikers.

Keith Anderson, CEO of ScottishPower Renewables, said: "Harestanes is one of the largest onshore windfarms in Scotland, and it is fantastic to see the project fully completed after a number of years of planning and preparation.

-- Advertisement --

"As well as overcoming many hurdles during the planning process, we also had to manage the discovery of unexploded WW2 bombs during construction, and we were delighted to finish the project on schedule.

"Onshore wind power continues to be a strong contributor to the UK's economy, and major projects like this support hundreds of jobs. Over the lifetime of the project, we will need highly skilled technicians to operate and maintain the windfarm and millions of pounds will be invested in the local area."

He continued: "We also look forward to the windfarm being used recreationally by members of the public, and we hope to attract many walkers, cyclists and joggers. I am always encouraged by the level of public interest in windfarms, and I think it is important that residents and visitors can interact with projects like this.

"We worked closely with Forestry Commission Scotland and cycling groups to deliver a new specially designed mountain bike track – and we hope this will encourage even more mountain biking enthusiasts to the area."

Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism Fergus Ewing added: "Projects like this provide considerable benefits to reducing our carbon emissions and play an important part in helping Scotland reach its target of 100% of electricity demand generated from renewables as well as contributing to sustainable economic growth, investment and jobs."

Bill Meadows, Forestry Commission Scotland's District Manager for Dumfries and the Borders said: "Harestanes is a great example of how public land can be used successfully to generate clean energy which help reduce the impacts of climate change.

"It has been a positive project and we are pleased that local recreation facilities have been developed for the community too. All this has been achieved whilst we continue to operate a large timber producing forest."

(JP/IT)