Vattenfall has submitted a planning application to Scottish Ministers for its redesigned 16-turbine Aultmore wind farm proposal.
The scheme, in Banffshire, lies approximately 6 km north of Keith and 7 km south of Buckie.
It almost quadruples the generation capacity of the previously consented 13-turbine Aultmore wind farm.
If consented, the project would also deliver a community benefit fund of around £528,000 each year or a total of £18.4m over the scheme’s 35-year operational life cycle.
It will also generate £1.3m in business rates for Moray Council each year.
A peat management plan to restore areas of degraded peat as well as a strategy to enhance biodiversity on site delivers further environmental benefits.
Care has also been taken to design the scheme in a manner which safeguards private water supplies, protects wildlife and habitats on site, and minimises construction traffic impact.
Lucy Blake, Vattenfall’s Project Manager for Aultmore Wind Farm, said: “Turbine technology has advanced considerably since the original Aultmore scheme was consented, with more powerful turbines becoming available.
“Given the climate emergency that we’re all facing, it makes absolute sense to maximise the site’s contribution to Scotland’s net zero targets and the UK’s COP28 pledge to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030.
“We’ve consulted extensively with the community, having held seven public consultation events during the scheme’s design phase, and widely communicated the project in order to raise awareness and encourage engagement.
“We are grateful to everyone who has taken the time to share their views with us and their feedback, together with the findings from our site surveys and key consultee feedback, has helped to shape the design.”
Michelle Good, Community Development Officer for Portgordon Community Trust, said: “As a local anchor organisation, we have been really impressed with Vattenfall’s approach to engagement and consultation for their proposed redesign of Aultmore Wind Farm.
“From their initial introduction to us, and asking for support to connect with others in the wider community, they really took time to get to know us and ingratiate themselves as an organisation that wanted to go the extra mile to engage constructively with the community and take feedback on board.”