The UK Government's Secretary of State for Scotland, Michael Moore, has officially opened EDF Energy Renewables’ first wind farm in Scotland.
The 19 turbine wind farm is situated in Mr Moore’s constituency at Longpark, near Galashiels, and is capable of generating enough electricity to power 19,000 homes each year – the equivalent of powering enough kettles to make more than 3.5 billion cups of tea per year.
Mr Moore was joined in the celebrations by Christian Egal, chief executive officer of EDF Energy Renewables.
The wind farm is EDF Energy Renewables’ biggest project to date in the UK. The project which was given Government approval in July 2006, has been supported by turbine manufacturer REpower who supplied the 19 MM82 turbines, each with a 2.05MW capacity.
The total installed capacity of projects operated by EDF Energy Renewables to date stands at 264 MW.
Mr Moore said: “Opening this windfarm is a further step in developing Scotland’s renewable energy infrastructure and a great example of how we are harnessing our natural geography to produce renewable energy. The energy generated here will power up to 19,000 homes and reduce CO2 emissions by around 43,000 tonnes.
“Investing in renewables is vital for our country and our economy and the coalition government is committed building a ‘zero-waste’ economy, so much so that we made it part of the coalition agreement published in May. It is also a rapidly expanding sector, and we are at the start of a renewable revolution which will open up many career choices for Scots.”
Christian Egal, CEO of EDF Energy Renewables said: “Longpark is good news for EDF ER and also for Scotland.
“This windfarm will contribute to the Scottish Government’s ambitious renewables targets of 80 per cent of electricity to be generated from renewable sources by 2020.
“Thanks to our engineers, Wind Prospect, REpower and our other contractors, Longpark is now a great addition to our renewables portfolio, and we hope, the first of many in Scotland.”
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