Scotland’s cabinet secretary for net zero and energy has officially opened the country’s newest onshore wind farm, Gordonbush Extension in the Scottish Highlands.
Michael Matheson visited the SSE Renewables-owned 38MW onshore wind farm today to view the renewable generation asset.
Gordonbush Extension, situated 10km north-east of Brora, comprises 11 Siemens Gamesa onshore wind turbines.
Gordonbush Extension began generating green energy earlier this year in April and is now fully operational.
Matheson said: “onshore wind is one of the most cost-effective forms of large-scale electricity generation and will be vital to Scotland’s future energy mix as we end Scotland’s contribution to climate change.
“The Scottish Government’s draft Onshore Wind Policy Statement, which I intend to publish shortly, will underline the key role that onshore wind energy will continue to play in this journey, as well as our determination to seize the economic benefits from this growth.
“The Gordonbush extension project marks another step forward in decarbonising our energy demand and realising our net zero ambitions.
“My congratulations go to everyone at SSE involved in the project.
“Its construction and completion, much of which has taken place since the pandemic began, is an excellent example of the green recovery we must continue to build on to ensure a just transition to net zero.”
Gordonbush Extension is the first wind farm development to be built by SSE Renewables on a merchant basis, which means no subsidies or CfD support were used to finance the project.
Gordonbush Extension is situated beside SSE Renewables’ 71.75MW operational Gordonbush Wind Farm, which was first commissioned in 2012.