Online Consultation for Energy Project to go live

REG Knockodhar Ltd, a joint venture between REG Power Management and Ireland’s part state-owned utility ESB, is getting ready to launch an online consultation exercise for its Knockodhar Wind Farm proposal, located near Barr in South Ayrshire.  Following all Scottish Government guidance in relation to Covid-19, virtual consultation will be undertaken via the Knockodhar Wind Farm project website www.knockodhar.co.uk from Monday 30th November.  Live ‘chat’ sessions will take place on Tuesday 1st and Wednesday 2nd December from 10:00-12:00, 14:00-16:00 and 18:30-20:00 in order to give people the chance to ask questions of the project team.

The project, which could generate over 100MW of clean, green energy has submitted a Scoping request to the Energy Consents Unit of the Scottish Government for up to 32 turbines, with tip heights of up to 200m and is now looking to gather initial feedback from the local community.

 Project Director, Melvyn McKeown commented: “We have submitted a formal Scoping Request which will gather formal feedback from statutory consultees such as South Ayrshire Council and NatureScot, SEPA and Scottish Forestry and now we are looking for early feedback from the local communities, who are well versed in wind farm development.  We believe the Knockodhar Wind Farm would significantly contribute to meeting the Scottish Government’s challenging net-zero targets and, more importantly, provide a source of revenue for South Ayrshire communities, supporting the local economy to ensure a sustainable future.”

The final number and capacity of the turbines will be influenced by a number of factors, including local views which are taken into consideration alongside a variety of technical studies and surveys which are undertaken through the EIA process.

Energy storage will also be included in the plans in order to maximise the potential energy use on site.  Mr McKeown added: “Energy storage on site helps with balancing the grid network when it’s very windy or at night when demand is lower, making onshore wind farms even more efficient.”

These issues, and many more, will be assessed as part of the EIA process, which includes a report detailing feedback from community consultation events and will lead to the submission of a Section 36 application to the Scottish Government for consideration in 2021.