A new wind farm development, located in South Lanarkshire, has received a funding boost of £8.13m.

The project, which is owned by Stewart Energy Ltd and consists of the Stewart family and the Lesmahagow Development Trust (LDT), has been funded through £1.63m from Scottish Enterprise's Renewable Energy Investment Fund (REIF), a senior loan of £6m and a £0.5m VAT facility from Santander Corporate & Commercial.

The development, near the village of Lesmahagow, will comprise of three turbines with a total operating capacity of 2.5MW – enough to power the equivalent of more than 300 homes.

LDT will use the income from the wind farm to support local communities, by purchasing community owned assets such as sport and play park facilities, and investing in the renovation of unused buildings.


Welcoming the funding, Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing said: "The Scottish Government remains ambitious for Scotland's tremendous green energy potential, and its ability to transform local communities.

"We continue to lead the way in supporting local and community ownership of renewable energy, most recently through our Community Energy Empowerment programme, which will make it easier for community groups to follow LDT's example and take a stake in a renewable energy scheme."

Andrew Stewart, Director at Stewart Energy Ltd, added: "I am a passionate believer in renewable energy and the benefits projects like ours can bring to our area if 100% of the ownership is kept local.

"We had always planned to gift the Lesmahagow Development Trust with a stake in the wind farm project but with the establishment of REIF, the Trust was able to secure a much larger stake.

"We look forward to working closely with Santander and the Scottish Government to ensure the project is completed on time."

(JP/CD)