A new wind farm from Vattenfall has been powered up and is set to power the production of Irn Bru as the famous ginger drink goes green.
The firm opened the South Kyle wind farm on the border of Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway which will provide power to AG Barr, the manufacturer of Irn Bru, following a corporate power purchase agreement that was signed in 2020.
The new site will produce 240MW, which is enough energy to power the equivalent of over 187,000 homes annually.
The wind farm was developed and constructed by Vattenfall and will be owned by Greencoat UK Wind.
© Supplied by VattenfallVattenfall says that it wanted to work with Scottish firms to bring about the development, because of this decision £44 million of the total spend of the project went to nearby firms.
Services provided by local companies included environmental assessments, legal and communications advice, and branded high-viz jackets.
Spending with Scottish businesses totalled £93.4m, including construction contractor R.J. McLeod, Vattenfall says.
In addition, an estimated £38m community fund from the wind farm will support people in the nearby area to take ownership of local buildings, develop tourism and recreation, and strengthen skills and resources to deliver a range of projects in the local community such as the purchase of a hotel and a bike track.
© DCT MediaScottish minister for energy Gillian Martin said: “As well as generating cheap, clean energy, it is vital that our energy transition supports a just transition to net zero for everyone, which is why I particularly welcome Vattenfall’s South Kyle Community Fund, which promises to inject £38 million of investment into the local community in the 25 years of its operation.”
Bryan Wright, Vattenfall’s director of project delivery onshore, added: “I would like to thank all our partners who have made South Kyle a reality and look forward to the wind farm benefitting Scotland for many years to come.”
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