The Swedish energy company Vattenfall is to build two new wind farms in the UK, the largest of which will be located at Pen y Cymoedd in South Wales near Neath. Construction of the smaller wind farm at Clashindarroch Wind Farm, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, has already started while construction of the Pen y Cymoedd site is due to start in 2014 with the first generation of power expected in 2016.
Pen y Cymoedd will consist of 76 wind turbines with a combined capacity of 228MW, enough to supply around 140,000 households while the 18-turbine Clashindarroch site will generate 36.9MW serving around 22,000 households and with completion expected in 2015.
The £460 million project will boost the company’s presence in the UK in line with Vattenfall’s ambitions to increase its share of renewable energy in the country. According to the company’s Director for Business Division Sustainable Energy Projects, Peter Smink, investing in wind power in the UK is an attractive option for Vattenfall because of government announcements backing wind as a vital part of the country’s growth agenda.
Vattenfall first entered the UK market in 2008 and has since invested more than £2 billion in five wind farms onshore and offshore. It also currently operates the Thanet Wind Farm which is one of the world’s largest, located some 11 kilometres off the coast of Kent.
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