CAITHNESS, United Kingdom, Dec. 21, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- At the North Planning Applications Committee of The Highland Council on Tuesday the 7thDecember councillors voted unanimously to allow the Limekiln project variation application to move to the final decision-making stage with the Scottish Government Ministers. The decision, which will see two of the 21 turbines removed from the wind farm at Limekiln, south of Reay in Caithness will allow the application to progress unopposed by statutory consultees. As well as the removal of two turbines, the variation to the current consent seeks to bring a number of improvements to the project, including a revised track design, allowing improved access during the construction works to the core path network and an increase in tip heights to unlock full wind potential and proper alignment with the neighbouring Limekiln Wind Farm Extension project.
Esbjörn Wilmar, Managing Director of Infinergy said: "I am delighted that The Highland Council has taken such a positive decision. The revised scheme will see increased benefits to the local area, not only in terms of access around the site but in terms of increased community benefits. The communities of Caithness are some of those most in need of such benefits in the country and we are very pleased that Members recognised how projects such as Limekiln can contribute during their debate."
More energy produced despite fewer turbines
"While we are looking to improve the track design, we are also looking to increase the energy yield from the windfarm by increasing tip heights in line with our Limekiln Extension project and applying state-of-the-art turbine technology. Even with two less turbines, this variation will still allow us to generate more renewable energy than the existing consented scheme." continued Mr Wilmar. "We now await both the outcome from the Limekiln Wind Farm Extension public inquiry and the Minister's decision on this variation application which will then, if both are successful, be built as one development. In turn this will reduce the overall disruption during the construction stage. The increase in energy production and further optimizing the design of the site will also enhance the economics of the projects."
Limekiln Wind Farm at a glance
Enabling works have already been completed following the original 2019 Limekiln Wind Farm consent and onsite felling continues this year to ensure the site is set to promptly move forward again. Felling work is expected to last until the spring of 2022. Delaying the main construction contracts will allow the separate forestry work to proceed unhindered. Subject to consent being awarded, the operational date for Limekiln Wind Farm is expected to now be late 2024 at the earliest. Together with the Limekiln Extension proposal, the wind farm has a grid connection contract in place for 106 MW.
Located 2.8km South/Southwest of Dounreay Power Station, the proposal going forward to Ministers will now consist of 19 turbines and will provide sufficient electricity to meet the needs of at least 74,000 homes based on the average generation mix of UK power sources.
Limekiln Wind Farm comes with the industry standard community benefit fund of £5,000 per MW of installed capacity, equating to almost £400,000 per year (based on 4.2 MW turbines). In addition, up to 10% of the project will be made available to the local community as a shared ownership opportunity, giving the potential to increase the economic value of the wind farm across Caithness.
Infinergy and Boralex announced the execution of a 50-50 joint venture agreement in October 2017, aimed at developing a pipeline of onshore wind projects, including the Limekiln Wind Farm project, essentially located in Scotland for a total estimated capacity of 325 MW.
NOTE for EDITORIAL STAFF
Infinergy
Infinergy is a UK based renewable energy company, active in the UK, The Netherlands and Australia with a strong focus on the development of onshore wind energy in Scotland. Infinergy develops wind and solar energy projects from inception through to construction and operation. In the UK we develop most of our projects in close cooperation with Boralex. For more information visit http://www.infinergy.co.uk.
Boralex
At Boralex, we have been providing affordable renewable energy accessible to everyone for over 30 years. As a leader in the Canadian market and France's largest independent producer of onshore wind power, we also have facilities in the United States and development projects in the United Kingdom. Over the past five years, our installed capacity has more than doubled to 2.5 GW. We are developing a portfolio of more than 3 GW in wind and solar projects and nearly 200 MW in storage projects, guided by our values and our corporate social responsibility (CSR) approach. Through profitable and sustainable growth, Boralex is actively participating in the fight against global warming. Thanks to our fearlessness, our discipline, our expertise and our diversity, we continue to be an industry leader. Boralex's shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol BLX. For more information, visit www.boralex.com or www.sedar.com. Follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
please contact: Media - Infinergy, Fiona Milligan, Project Manager, Infinergy, M: 07825 744712, info@limekilnwindfarm.co.uk; Media - Boralex | Investor Relations - Boralex, Isabelle Fontaine, Director, Public Affairs and Communications, Boralex Inc., 819 345-0043, isabelle.fontaine@boralex.com, Stéphane Milot, Senior Director – Investor Relations, Boralex Inc., 514 213-1045, stephane.milot@boralex.com
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