RJ McLeod wins £67m deal to build 240MW onshore farm
- Published
South Kyle is expected to start generating electricity by early 2023
Civil engineering firm RJ McLeod has won a £67m contract to build a 50-turbine onshore wind farm in southern Scotland.
The Glasgow-based firm will lead the construction of the 240MW South Kyle Wind Farm, which will have the capacity to power 170,000 homes.
Preparatory works are expected to begin next month.
The wind farm is expected to start generating electricity by early 2023, according to Swedish owners Vattenfall.
In April, Vattenfall secured £320m in investment from infrastructure fund Greencoat to build the site and run it for a decade.
RJ McLeod will deliver roads and access tracks, electrical infrastructure, turbine foundations and other infrastructure at South Kyle, which straddles East Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway.
South Kyle, near Dalmellington, will be Vattenfall's largest onshore wind farm in the United Kingdom.
At the peak of construction, the project is expected to require about 150 workers on site.
This will be RJ McLeod's fourth major Vattenfall project.
'A real future'
Vattenfall's UK development director for onshore wind, Frank Elsworth, said the selection of RJ McLeod continued his company's commitment to the Scottish supply chain.
He added: "Constructing a wind farm is about so much more than just building a green power station.
"This is about creating and sustaining an industry that offers people a real future in a rewarding career.
"As well as bringing fossil-fuel free living a step closer, we want to ensure that businesses close to our wind farms have the chance to take full advantage of the opportunities developments like South Kyle can create."
SSE Renewables plans to build 103 turbines at its Viking project in Shetland
Earlier this week, Scottish energy giant SSE Renewables said it planned to press ahead with what would be the UK's biggest onshore wind farm in Shetland.
The 103-turbine Viking 443MW project would cost £580m, and create hundreds of jobs.
It is subject to energy regulator Ofgem approving a subsea power cable between Shetland and the Scottish mainland.
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