Plans for a new wind farm to help boost the Green Recovery in southern Scotland has been submitted by one of Scotland's biggest onshore wind farm operators, Community Windpower.

Scoop Hill Community Wind Farm, located entirely in Dumfries & Galloway, will see £1.8 billion of economic investment, which will be felt throughout the regional economy, including jobs and community benefits, supporting the Green Recovery.

This is the third Community Windpower renewable energy project in southern Scotland and would see the business invest a total of £4.05 billion and provide enough clean, green energy to power 1.25 million homes.

The project has drawn support from businesses across the region who rely on these infrastructure projects to support thousands of jobs.

Among those are Grange Quarry and Concrete, AMD Contract Services Ltd and RJ McLeod, who directly employ hundreds of people to work on the construction phase of onshore wind farms and many more indirectly in the supply chain.

The scheme itself consists of 75 turbines producing 525MW of clean, green electricity, and will be capable of powering 572,000 homes every year and offsetting 931,000 tonnes of CO2 every year during its operational lifetime.

Energy storage facilities will be built within the wind farm, ensuring energy is stored away during low demand and provide a more consistent level of power is supplied throughout its 40-year operational lifetime.

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Scoop Hill will directly support Scotland's Climate Emergency Declaration (CED 2019), significantly helping achieve the ambitious targets of net zero carbon by 2045.

The project would also allow for the development of a visitor centre and multi-use wind farm walk, providing an ideal opportunity for folk to enjoy the outdoors and gain knowledge about the wind farm.

The Scoop Hill Community Wind Farm Visitor Centre could generate increased tourism and inward investment, benefitting both the local community and the wider Dumfries & Galloway area.

It would act as an educational centre to increase knowledge and awareness of the climate emergency, and how renewable energy projects can help tackle the crisis.

The visitor centre will be subject to a separate planning application and wider consultation.

In addition, £20 million in community benefits will go directly into the local area over the next 40 years. This would include investment into community groups, charities, schools, sports teams and businesses.

Investment on this scale could ensure the long-term future of many organisations that are embedded in communities across the region.

Stuart Walker, community liaison officer at Community Windpower: "Scoop Hill Community Wind Farm will provide huge economic and social benefits to Dumfries and Galloway, both during construction and the 40-year operational lifetime.

"However, the benefits of this project are not just limited to directly supporting jobs during the post-Covid Green Recovery, it will also stimulate wider economic growth across the region and deliver 40 years of inward investment.

"Scoop Hill Community Wind Farm will contribute a total of £262.4m in business rates to Dumfries & Galloway Council. This money can support the provision of vital local services and facilities, in turn helping to improve education, employment and socio economics for the local authority area.

"It also provides an opportunity for the region to become a global leader in green energy projects, which will help kick-start the economy and fuel clean growth.

"Additionally, the opportunity to build a visitor centre for Scoop Hill will further provide significant long-term benefits, including jobs, education facilities, tourism and space to support people's health and mental wellbeing.

"We will be reaching out to the community and look forward to working with them, which is a fantastic opportunity for local people to utilise the wind farm's community benefits to make their own aspirations a reality.

"The visitor centre will be run as a not-for-profit venture, with any income directed back to running costs and supporting the local community."