Shelloch Wind Farm Approved

Force 9 Energy, alongside development partner EDF Renewables, has welcomed the decision (19th January 2022) by Stirling Council’s Planning and Regulation Panel to approve the 5 turbine Shelloch wind farm, located in the Fintry Hills, Stirlingshire.

The Shelloch wind farm will be located on the same site as the approved Craigton & Spittalhill Wind Farm. Despite having two fewer turbines than Craigton and Spittalhill, Shelloch will generate over 80% more electricity by using modern efficient turbine designs. It therefore provides a fantastic opportunity to make better use of the wind resource on site and be significantly more productive, powering an estimated 23,000 homes.*

Commenting on the decision, Andrew Smith, Head of Planning & Development said:
‘’We welcome the positive decision taken by the Planning and Regulation Panel and also the support received from planning officers at Stirling Council. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the local communities and all the representative groups we have liaised with over the last few years. We look forward to continue to work with them and their communities as the project moves forward.’’

The Shelloch approval also unlocks the opportunity for 6 communities across Stirling (Fintry, Kippen, Gargunnock, Cambusbarron, Carron Valley and Arnprior) to each receive £600,000 over the project lifetime (30 years) to spend on community focussed projects. This equates to a total of £3.6million (index linked) over the project lifetime.

Of the decision, Stephen Walls, Head of Development at EDF Renewables UK said:
‘’This is great news and not only does it accelerate the Scottish Government’s ambitions to achieve ‘Net Zero’ carbon emissions by 2045, but it importantly also unlocks funding for local communities and businesses ensuring that they too benefit from onshore renewable projects.’’

The approval of Shelloch Wind Farm follows on from the success which Force 9 and EDF had with Airigh Wind Farm, the 14-turbine wind farm in Argyll and Bute that was consented by the Scottish Government in 2020.

*  This figure is based on 5 turbines with a rated capacity of 4.2MW operating at site derived capacity factor of 39.4% capacity and assuming 3,618 is the average UK household electricity consumption in kW hours (based on most recent statistics from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Dec 2019 (BEIS))