SSE has trumpeted a £108m contribution to the UK economy as the first turbine starts going up at its 173MW Clyde 2 wind farm in southwest Scotland.
The utility developer is assembling the lower towers on the initial Siemens 3.2MW turbines ahead of arrival of a main crane to tackle upper sections, nacelles and rotors later this month.
Analysis of the Clyde 2 supply chain by PwC found that manufacture, installation and servicing of each of the 54 turbines will contribute “almost £1m to UK GDP” and supports more than 21 years of employment in the country.
It found that 76% of contribution from turbines will stay within Scotland and that almost 71% of employment will stay north of the border.
“The arrival of the first turbine parts at Clyde extension is both an important project milestone and gives us the chance to examine further the economic contribution such sites make to our economy in terms of jobs and investment,” said director of generation development Paul Cooley.
“The numbers are impressive. These windfarms provide a real boost to the local and national economy.”
Clyde 2 is on track to produce first power under the Renewables Obligation regime and will be fully operational in the second half of 2017.
The full report on the wind farm’s economic impact can be found here (note: goes direct to a .pdf download file).
Image: the first of 54 Siemens 3.2MW turbines going up at Clyde 2 (SSE)
SSE trumpets £108m Clyde boost
UK economic benefit detailed as first turbine goes up at Scottish extension
By EBS