Auchrobert Wind Farm
South Lanarkshire

Project

Case study

Type:
Wind Farm

Status:
Operational

Owner:
Nadara

Part community-owned, the project is built on a Christmas tree farm about 25 km south of Glasgow.

Turbines

The wind farm comprises twelve GE 103 3.2MW turbines, each with a rotor diameter of 103m and maximum tip height of 132m.

38.4

Maximum generating capacity is 38.4 Megawatts.

Landowners

Turbines are built on land leased from two farmers. Eight further landowners are involved either for access or hosting other project infrastructure.

2017

Commissioning

Commercial operations started in March 2017 and are expected to continue for 25-35 years.

Overview

Auchrobert wind farm was built on agricultural land 6km south east of Strathaven in South Lanarkshire. The project comprises 12 GE 103-3.2MW turbines with a total generating capacity of 38.4MW. Access is taken off the B7086 near Boghead via 3km of new and upgraded farm tracks.

Timeline

The planning application for the project was submitted in November 2012 and consent granted by South Lanarkshire Council in December 2014 (Ref: CL/12/0556). The project was then constructed by our partners Falck Renewables (now part of Nadara) and commercial operations began in March 2017.

A community shared ownership stake was made available in conjunction with Energy4All, and Auchrobert Community Energy Society (which currently has over 350 members) took a stake in the project in April 2019.

Community

A community fund for the project, managed by Foundation Scotland, was set up to benefit the residents of Blackwood, Kirkmuirhill and Boghead. This has been used to support a wide range of local initiatives, including funding for a part-time Community Development Officer and the Better Connected Community Café in Kirkmuirhall.

The Auchrobert Community Energy Society also allocates a proportion of its income to providing social and environmental benefits to people local to the wind farm, a recent example of which being the provision of plants for a sensory garden at McKirdy Park.

Location

55° 37′ 30″ North, 3° 59′ 19″ West

The impact

What is being delivered

Million kWh/year

On average, the wind farm generates around 84.4 million kilowatt hours of electricity a year. Enough charge 4,000 electric cars a day.

Based on a rolling average load factor of 25.1% to November 2024 and an electric car battery capacity of 58kwh (as found in a Tesla Model 3 or VW ID3)

Homes powered

The output from the wind farm is enough to meet the electricity needs of 26,000 average UK households.

Based on a rolling average load factor of 25.1% to November 2024 and DESNZ Subnational Electricity and Gas Consumption Statistics statistics showing that annual GB average domestic household consumption is 3,239kWh (updated January 2024).

Minutes

In high winds, the wind farm produces enough electricity to power an average UK home for a year in 5 minutes.

Based on DESNZ Subnational Electricity and Gas Consumption Statistics statistics showing that annual GB average domestic household consumption is 3,239kWh (updated January 2024)

Tonnes of CO2 saved to date

The CO2 emissions saved by the wind farm are equivalent to planting 1,475,000 trees, or to removing 25,000 cars from the road.

Based on:

DESNZ's “all non-renewable fuels” emissions statistic of 437 tonnes of carbon dioxide per GWh of electricity supplied in the Digest of UK Energy Statistics (July 2024) Table 5.14 (“Estimated carbon dioxide emissions from electricity supplied”)
DfT's NTS0901 statistic (August 2024) of an average diesel car covering 8,300 miles per year and manufacturer's published emissions data for a VW Golf 2.0 TDi of 115g/km
EcoTree estimate that a typical tree absorbs 25kg CO2 per year