Kype Muir Wind Farm, South Lanarkshire
Kype Muir Wind Farm plaque. Photograph by Gordon Brown, 6th January, 2021.
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Gordon Brown - geograph.org.uk/p6/724457
It states:
Banks Renewables
Kype Muir Wind Farm
Opened by Paul Wheelhouse MSP
3rd April 2019
Kype Muir Wind Farm, located approximately 5km south of the town of Strathaven, is a flagship development for Banks Renewables. Consisting of 26 turbines, the aim is to develop a commercial scale wind farm in a true partnership sense where the social, environmental and economic benefits are maximised and shared fairly between the operator, local authority and most importantly the communities surrounding the proposal. It has 26 turbines generating up to c88.4MW in total and was operational in May 2019.
Access is from the B743 Strathaven to Dungavel Road.
This was delivered by:
- Community Partnering - a true partnership which sees the communities take their own share of the wind farm revenues to invest in their local area tackling the issues specific to them
- Connect2Renewables - a partnership between the operator, local authority and communities aimed at creating the necessary links between the operations of each party in order to maximise support for local businesses and opportunities for local people as a result of the wind farm's operations
Kype Muir wind farm from the air. Photograph by Thomas Nugent, 27th January 2020
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Thomas Nugent - geograph.org.uk/p/6383465
Further Information
- Kype Muir Wind Farm
- Collett -Delivering Kype Muir Wind Farm
- Collett Heavy Haulage with 3 x tower section going to the Kype Muir wind farm. (Youtube)
Kype Muir Extension
Hamilton-based family business Banks Renewables announced on the 17th August 2021 that construction work had begun on a 15-turbine extension to the Kype Muir wind farm in South Lanarkshire, around five kilometres south of Strathaven, after it secured new funding agreements with Greencoat UK Wind at the start of the year.
The extension will complement the 26-turbine Kype Muir wind farm, which has been operational since 2019, and they will together have a combined installed capacity of 155 megawatts, which would be enough to meet the annual electricity needs of around 112,000 homes or a city larger than Aberdeen
Manufacturer Nordex has been contracted to supply and install the turbines for the project, while the balance of plant contract has been agreed with Scottish civil engineering contractor R J McLeod, as was the case with the original Kype Muir wind farm.
Richard Dunkley, managing director at Banks Renewables, said: "This is a landmark project for both ourselves and the wider Scottish renewable energy sector as we continue to increase our contribution to the UK's journey towards net zero and COP26."
The Kype Muir extension will be the first site in the UK to use highly efficient 200m turbines and will have an average output per turbine of 15GWh (gigawatt hours) per year, compared to an average of 9GWh per annum on the existing Kype Muir turbines, which will substantially increase the amount of renewable energy that the wind farm can produce.
It was announced on August 11, 2022 that the first turbine had been installed. Banks Renewables aims to have the turbines generating renewable electricity by the end of 2022, helping combat the energy shortfall and overreliance on fossil fuel imports that has contributed to soaring energy prices.
On 16th November 2022, Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister marked the connection of the UK ´s tallest onshore wind turbines at Kype Muir to the national grid. The Kype Muir Extension is set to be fully complete and producing renewable electricity to the national grid in early 2023.
Further Information
- Kype Muir Wind Farm Extension
- Herald August 2021 - Kype Muir: Construction begins on Scottish wind farm development with UK's tallest onshore wind turbines.
- First turbine installed at notable Scottish wind farm extension - August 11, 2022
- First minister launches UK´s tallest onshore wind turbines.
Kype Muir Wind Farm Community Fund
A community fund established by Banks Renewables has awarded more than a quarter of a million pounds to local organisations near Kype Muir wind farm. Kype Muir Community Panel (KMCP) encourages applications from groups within a 10km radius of the wind farm and is now held as a leading example of what can be achieved by community-led partnerships with developers.
Some examples of funding:-
- Hope Hub in Kirkmuirhill opened a sensory garden in the spring of 2022 to benefit local people after being awarded a grant from Banks Renewables' Kype Muir Wind Farm community fund in April 2021.
- Coalburn Miners' Welfare Charitable Society, which runs the village's social club, has been awarded a £65,000 grant from the Renewable Energy Fund (REF) administered by South Lanarkshire Council which receives money from wind farms including the nearby Banks Renewables wind farm at Kype Muir. The grant has enabled the group to transform their social club - renovating its upstairs and downstairs halls, two toilets, games room and lounge.
- Lesmahagow Bowling Club was awarded a £15,000 grant from the Kype Muir Community Fund to allow for essential upgrades to the club's communal lockers and toilets, that had fallen into a poor state of disrepair.
- Stonehouse Heritage Group, South Lanarkshire, has received a grant of £6000 to ensure it can continue and improve its work. This will enable the group to improve its website, where it stores all of its historical information for members and the wider public.
Further Information
- Coalburn Miners Welfare Club funding
- Hope Hub sensory garden in Kirkmuirhill.
- Funding for Lesmahagow Bowling Club
- Support for Stonehouse Heritage Group
Article compiled by David Halls. First published; 23rd September 2022. Updated 16th November 2022.