Plans to extend Hare Hill Wind Farm have been approved, ScottishPower Renewables has confirmed.

The proposals were approved by East Ayrshire Council and will see 39 turbines installed on the site, which is located to the south east of New Cumnock. They will have a generating capacity of around 33MW.

The project has been in development for more than nine years, and the new turbines will be built adjacent to the existing 20 wind turbines at the wind farm, which have been operational since 2000.

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Work on the extension will commence in late 2015, with a scheduled completion date given of 2016.

Simon Christian, UK Managing Director, ScottishPower Renewables, said: "Our business has spent a number of years developing Hare Hill Windfarm Extension, and we are delighted that East Ayrshire Council has approved our plans.

"The original Hare Hill Windfarm project was one of the first windfarms that we constructed in Scotland, and we have grown from these early projects to become one of the largest developers of wind power in the UK.

"Importantly, we have achieved this growth in a responsible manner, by carefully selecting suitable sites, and working closely with communities and local stakeholders."

(JP/CD)