The first of 20 wind turbines has been constructed successfully at Carraig Gheal wind farm above Inverinan Forest, NW Loch Awe. Work at the site of the 46MW wind farm developed by GreenPower in partnership with Ampere Equity Fund has been taking place since last year and is scheduled to be finished in early 2013.
The 2.3 MW Siemens turbine is the first of 20 to be completed on the site. The towers for the turbine were manufactured at Wind Towers Ltd in Machrihanish, with components making the journey onto the site itself via the dedicated 35km long West Loch Awe Timber Haul Route.
GreenPower director John Morgan said, "It's great to see the project make the transition from a planning application to a major wind farm that will bring lasting benefits to Scotland's energy security needs and the fight against climate change. The first turbine going up is the culmination of many months spent preparing the site, its grid connections and transport routes, as well as the manufacture and assembly of components at Machrihanish and delivery to the site. Local communities have shown their patience throughout and we hope they will feel the lasting benefit of the new roads infrastructure and investment we are putting in place."
He added, "Early next year Carraig Gheal will swell Argyll's contribution to Scotland's renewables capacity, which in 2011 alone displaced more than 8 million tonnes of CO2 from electricity generation in the UK- it has never been a more important time to be building part of the solution to climate change while boosting the local economy."