ScottishPower Renewables today announced that they are considering two sites in Caithness for the harnessing of renewable energy.
The two potential windfarm locations are at Halsary and Westerdale both approximately ten miles south of Thurso.
ScottishPower Renewables’ site selection process and policy is designed to identify potential windfarm sites according to the principles of sustainable development. Any site must also be environmentally acceptable, economically and technically viable and make meaningful contributions to the UK’s renewable energy targets.
A scoping report is currently being distributed to stakeholders giving more detail on the proposals and describing the methodology and benefits of the possible developments.
ScottishPower Renewables will also appoint a team of independent specialist consultants to advise on environmental issues, assist in developing the layout of any proposed windfarms and to provide environmental information to enable the production of an extensive environmental statement.
David Walker, Project Director said: “The UK has extremely strong renewables targets and the sites at Halsary and Westerdale could make considerable contributions to these targets and the country’s long term energy goals.
“ScottishPower Renewables prides itself in developing renewable energy responsibly and we take into consideration the views of all our consultees and work with them to ensure our projects are developed in harmony with the local environment.
“Keeping the local communities informed is also a key aim of all our projects and we will be holding numerous public information days throughout this process to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to have their questions answered.”
NOTES TO EDITORS
The integration of Iberdrola and ScottishPower, successfully completed on April 23 2007, has created a new organisation, which is one of the largest electricity groups in Europe with an enterprise value of around €80 billion, a presence in more than 30 countries and 22 million points of supply. The new group is also the world’s number one renewable energy operator with 7,000 MW of installed capacity and a pipeline of more than 40,000 MW.
For further information, contact
Derek Christie, Marketing and Communications Executive, ScottishPower Renewables
Tel: 0141 568 2248 (direct) or 0141 568 2000 (switch)
Mobile: 07736 088 765