Scotland is at the heart of a drive by the UK’s leading power generator RWE to grow its onshore wind portfolio, with three major new projects successful in the recent Contracts for Difference Auction Round 5, two of which are already under construction.
RWE generates over 15% of the UK’s electricity, and is a leading partner in the delivery of the energy transition, while ensuring a sustainable and secure domestic energy supply in the UK. To deliver this, the company has ambitions to invest up to £15billion in new and existing clean energy infrastructure across the UK by 2030.
Onshore wind plays a major role in delivering RWE’s ambitions; in the last Contracts for Difference Auction, the company’s onshore wind projects Camster II - 36 megawatts (MW,) Enoch Hill - 69MW, and Strathy Wood - 63 MW, successfully secured offers at a strike price of £52.29/MWh.
Construction is already underway at Enoch Hill onshore wind project, which is located in East Ayrshire, Scotland. Once constructed, it will be capable of generating enough electricity from the wind to power around 67,000 typical UK homes, and is expected to be fully operational by 2025. At 69MW, Enoch Hill will be RWE’s largest onshore wind farm to be built in Scotland, and will use 15 Nordex wind turbines, with an overall maximum tip height of 149.9m.
Camster II, a 10 turbine site, is also now in construction in Caithness, alongside RWE’s existing operational onshore wind sister project, Camster. The project is due to be completed in 2025 and, once fully operational will be capable of producing up to 36MW of renewable electricity.
Engineering contractor Farrans is leading construction for both onshore wind projects, and has worked successfully on several other RWE renewable projects across Scotland.
Cathal Hennessy, Head of Onshore Renewables Development (Wind, Solar and Storage) UK & Ireland, said: “RWE is continuing to develop its portfolio of onshore wind, as a key long-term partner in powering the UK. Onshore wind has an important role to play in helping deliver the UK and Scottish governments’ net zero emission targets in the coming years. The technology remains the lowest cost form of renewable electricity generation, and RWE is increasing its already significant onshore wind portfolio to support national targets. At the same time, our ambition in Scotland is ever growing, and we are delighted to have reached significant milestones for Enoch Hill and Camster II, and looking forward to finally seeing these projects rising out of the ground.”
RWE has a successful history of delivering onshore wind in the UK. It already operates a portfolio of 33 onshore wind sites with an installed capacity of 738 megawatts (MW) in operation, and has another 106 megawatts (MW) currently under construction. In addition, the company has a strong onshore wind development pipeline of 22 projects across Scotland and Wales, potentially capable of generating up to 1.8 gigawatts (GW) if all the projects are fully developed and constructed. Of these, 16 of the projects would be located in Scotland, and capable of generating a significant 1.2GW of renewable electricity.
RWE’s onshore wind portfolio consists of a range of projects at different stages of development, and all capable of powering thousands of homes, supporting local supply chains and jobs, and making an important contribution to the UK’s ambitions for net zero and security of supply.
Community engagement is critically important, and remains a key focus for RWE, ensuring that its renewable projects work not just for the nation as a whole, but also for local communities. The Onshore Wind Sector Deal has the potential to unlock wind growth for Scotland by focusing on issues that will be pivotal to making renewable energy work for communities, the environment and the economy.
RWE is committed to supporting communities neighbouring its renewable energy projects through flexible community benefits packages. Over the 20 years that the company’s wind farms have been operating in the UK. £33 million has been invested into hundreds of locally important projects, helping to build strong sustainable communities for the future. Over their lifetime, the renewables projects that we currently operate will contribute more than £17 million into Scottish community benefit funds.
In addition the three projects that recently received a CfD (Camster II, Enoch Hill, Strathy Wood) could deliver additional annual community funding worth up to £840, 000 each year (subject to final installed capacity). Based on a 30 year lifetime this would be an investment of around £25 million into Scottish communities and provides an opportunity for them to plan and develop a more sustainable future and achieve some of their bigger and more ambitious ideas.