Dumfries and Galloway council has backed plans by Italian developer ERG to increase the capacity of its Sandy Knowe wind farm in Scotland to almost 82MW from 48MW previously.
The council’s planning applications committee voted unanimously to support the increase, which will see the 24-turbine project install 3.4MW hardware instead of 2MW.
ERG said the turbine height will also remain the same as in the original plans.
Sandy Knowe, which will be located just north of Kirkconnel in Upper Nithsdale, was approved as a 48MW development by the council in March 2016.
Final approval of the project rests with the Scottish government as the wind farm is now over 50MW, ERG said.
ERG head of UK development Mark Evans said: “Given the recent advancements in turbine technology, ERG can achieve the additional capacity by increasing each wind turbine generator from 2MW to 3.4MW – helping generate a greater amount of green electricity whilst keeping the number and size of the turbines on site the same.
“We are grateful for the council’s continuing support and hope that Scottish Ministers recognise the backing from the local community when making their final decision to allow the increased capacity.”
The increase in capacity will also boost the project’s community benefit fund to up to £408,000 a year from up to £240,000 previously.