Lewis Wind partners EDF and Wood are exploring the potential installation of next-generation hardware at the consented Stornoway wind farm in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland.
The joint venture has filed early-stage planning documents with Edinburgh government officials for 24 turbines of up to 187 metres and nine of up to 155 metres.
Rotors on the bigger machines would be up to 164 metres, which if built at that size would be a UK onshore wind record by a substantial margin.
The smaller turbines will feature rotors of 135 metres. Overall the project would feature three fewer turbines than the currently consented 36-unit layout.
“The proposed blade tip heights and rotor diameters would maximise potential renewable energy generation at the site,” said the partners.
A battery storage element is also included in the revised application.
Project manager Will Collins said: “We have now started what is known as scoping for a potential revised layout at Stornoway wind farm as we outlined at the end of April. The original project consent remains in place and is being progressed.”
He said the new submission “is to assess the potential for us to explore the maximum potential of the site and the potential to win a CFD contract”.
Collins added: “The project will compete against projects both onshore and offshore around the UK, which are all optimising their own projects with the same intentions.”
Public exhibitions will be held later this year. “It is important to stress that no decisions have yet been made on whether to proceed with a new planning application or not,” said Collins.
EDF/Wood previously secured permission for a variation to install turbines of up to 145 metres and top power of 180MW.
Image: an EDF wind farm on the Scottish mainland (reNEWS)
EDF, Wood in giant leap on Lewis
By EBS