“uåX˜äŠÊ˜·³Ç

ScottishPower has unveiled plans for a 240 MW wind farm -- the largest in the UK -- on moors some ten miles south of Glasgow. The £150 million project would comprise 140 turbines on hills at Whitelee Forest, part of Eaglesham Moor. ScottishPower and landowners, West of Scotland Water and Forest Enterprise, are to improve community access to the area, with new footpaths , cycle-ways and a visitor centre. Local consultations begin this month and ScottishPower expects to complete its environmental assessment and planning application by autumn. If approved, the wind farm could be operating by 2003 and would meet nearly one third of the government's renewable energy target for Scotland. ScottishPower's Ken Vowles says: "We are expanding our wind farm business throughout the UK and are on target to meet government requirements to provide 10% of our generation from renewable sources." The project is backed by environmental groups Friends of the Earth Scotland and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). "We support the expansion of renewable energy generation in Scotland and have been pleased to advise ScottishPower on locational issues to avoid damaging key wildlife sites," says Stuart Housden from RSPB.