The first electricity from the Whitelee Wind Farm is already being produced from 20 of the proposed 140 wind turbines that will eventually comprise the entire project. Developed by ScottishPower Renewables, the Whitelee Wind Farm on Eaglesham Moor to the south of Glasgow will eventually have a maximum capacity of 322MW, generating enough electricity to power over 180,000 homes.

The construction of the wind turbines will start to accelerate now that the infrastructure such as roads and bridges are in place and in daily use. The company is expecting to erect the remainder of the wind turbines at a rate of around 2 per week. Whether they can meet this expectation is dependent on the weather and, most notably, on the wind. In fact, windy conditions is the greatest enemy of erecting wind turbines due to the instability of the towers before being properly bedded down.

Whitelee Wind Farm is spread across 55 square kilometres of land and it is estimated that the cost of the project will come in at £300 million. Completion of construction of the entire 140 wind turbines and commercial production of electricity is anticipated to take place in 2009.

When fully operational the project will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 650,000 tonnes a year which is the equivalent of taking 240,000 cars off the road.

A couple of weeks ago plans were lodged with the Scottish Government to expand the proposed Whitelee Wind Farm by a further 36 wind turbines. The extra turbines would be constructed in the nearby Irvine Valley. This proposal is still to be considered by the Scottish Government, but if it is approved the capacity of the wind farm will be increased by a further 83MW taking the entire project to over 400MW.

If the proposal is approved, ScottishPower plans to begin construction on the extension in 2011 with the completion set down for 2013.