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Daily Record
6 days ago
- Business
- Daily Record
Scottish Labour leader and UK Energy Minister visit major Lanarkshire wind farm
Anas Sarwar and Michael Shanks, who is also the Rutherglen MP, were at Kype Muir Wind Farm. The leader of the Scottish Labour Party, Anas Sarwar, and UK Energy Minister Michael Shanks have visited a pioneering wind farm in South Lanarkshire. During the trip to OnPath Energy's Kype Muir Wind Farm site, Mr Sarwar and Mr Shanks met with senior representatives from the firm, receiving a tour of the development, learning about the history of the project and the benefits it continues to deliver. Home to 26 turbines, Kype Muir Wind Farm generates enough renewable energy to power over 63,000 homes annually while providing over £11m in community benefits across its 25-year lifespan. The project is delivering significant benefits to the surrounding area, with over £700,000 distributed to local communities through the Kype Muir Community Panel Fund (KMCP) as part of its OnPath Together commitment. Each area is represented by two members on the KMCP panel, ensuring a broad and inclusive approach to decision-making. The fund was further bolstered with the launch of the Kype Muir Wind Farm Extension developed by OnPath Energy (now owned by funds managed by Schroders Greencoat), which added a further 15 turbines to the overall site taking the lifetime community benefits of both sites to over £21m. Mr Sarwar said: 'It was fantastic to visit OnPath Energy to see their site at Kype Muir and learn about all the work they do. 'Businesses like OnPath are at the cutting edge of the transition to clean energy and have a vital role to play in delivering energy security and driving down bills. 'Scottish Labour will work hand in hand with companies like OnPath and the UK government to put Scotland at the heart of the energy transition.' After Kype Muir Wind Farm became the first project in the UK to secure consent for 132-meter turbines, OnPath Energy launched in 2019, the Kype Muir Community Partnership (KMCP) which was established to ensure nearby communities benefit directly from the wind farm's success. The initiative has proven highly effective, empowering five local community council areas to reinvest a share of the revenue into projects that are tailored to local issues and identified by local people. The purpose is to make community-driven action facilitate long-lasting benefits for the community's surrounding the projects. In addition, the community fund supported a jobs and skills collaboration with South Lanarkshire Council which has supported over 2000 people into employment or education. Notably, in collaboration with NATS, OnPath Energy (then Banks Renewables) funded a new radar system in 2019 for Glasgow Airport, which enabled the development of not only Kype Muir Wind Farm, it also unlocked £500m worth of development in the area from other projects. Kype Muir Wind Farm was also the first onshore wind site to benefit from the UK Governments Contract for Difference having taken part in Auction Round 1. Mr Shanks, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Energy and MP for Rutherglen, said: 'OnPath Energy is leading the way in green energy and it was an honour to meet with them and learn more about the project's they lead. 'The Labour Government is committed to delivering the clean energy of the future and the jobs Scotland needs. ' Gordon Thomson, projects director at OnPath Energy said: 'It's been a pleasure to welcome Mr Sarwar and Mr Shanks to Kype Muir Wind Farm today and to share with them the story of a project that has come to symbolise what's possible in Scotland's transition to renewable energy. 'We set out with the vision to create something special here, and since going operational, Kype Muir has done just that, generating clean energy, creating local jobs, and delivering meaningful support through the KMCP. 'In addition to this, the launch of Kype Muir Extension was a huge moment for the renewables sector in Scotland, not just in terms of the scale and ambition of the engineering involved, but also in how it set a new benchmark for community involvement and benefit. 'These two sites have empowered communities to lead the way in identifying and funding local priorities, and we're incredibly proud of the lasting positive impact this model continues to have.' The original Kype Muir Wind Farm alone is expected to generate a lifetime local spend of approximately £123 million. Reflecting OnPath's ongoing commitment to supporting the local economy, local contractors were also prioritised throughout the construction and delivery of the Kype Muir Extension. Combined, both projects will contribute an estimated £188 million to the Scottish economy, with £159 million of that investment within a 60km radius of the site. Robin Winstanley, sustainability and community director said: 'Onshore wind is the clear winner of any energy generation project when it comes to delivering social and economic value for communities in Scotland, with over 60% of the lifetime spend within 40 miles of the sites. 'We firmly believe that renewable energy must also empower people and communities. 'Through our OnPath Together commitment, we're ensuring that our developments create long-lasting, tangible value for those who live and work closest to them. 'This includes shared community ownership, education bursaries, real living wage jobs, and £5,000 per MW of installed capacity as a baseline community benefit. 'It also means prioritising local contractors to stimulate regional economies and delivering nature-positive solutions that restore and enhance biodiversity.' Together, Kype Muir and Kype Muir Extension will generate over 155MW of renewable electricity annually, enough to power more than 123,000 homes, equivalent to a city larger than Aberdeen. They are set to displace around 307,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions each year, the equivalent of removing approximately 30,700 petrol cars from the road. * Don't miss the latest headlines from around Lanarkshire. Sign up to our newsletters here.
Scotsman
13-05-2025
- Business
- Scotsman
Renewables developer powers over 145,000 Homes with Scottish wind
Wind farms power city double the size of Aberdeen Sign up to our Scotsman Money newsletter, covering all you need to know to help manage your money. Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The growing portfolio of Scottish onshore wind farms owned and operated by renewable energy firm OnPath Energy produced enough electricity last year to meet the annual power needs of more than 145,000 homes - or a city more than twice the size of Aberdeen. Over 422,000 MWh of electricity was generated by OnPath's Scottish wind farms during the 12 months to the end of 2024 – and by doing so, they displaced the equivalent annual carbon dioxide emissions from the electricity supply network of over 58,500 petrol cars. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The 26-turbine Kype Muir Wind Farm near Strathaven in South Lanarkshire led the way by generating more than 190,000 MWh, with the 15-turbine Middle Muir Wind Farm producing just under 96,000 MWh. Richard Dunkley, CEO at OnPath Energy The seven-turbine Pates Hill Wind Farm in West Lothian, which OnPath Energy acquired in January this year, generated 33,400 MWh of green energy in 2024, while the 15-turbine Kype Muir Wind Farm Extension produced 101,800 MWh last year before OnPath's sale of its shares in the project to funds managed by Schroders Greencoat LLP last October. As part of the company's OnPath Together development approach, its Scottish wind farms also delivered combined revenues of almost £613,000 during 2024 to their respective community benefits funds, which provide financial support for projects being undertaken by groups and good causes in their surrounding communities. OnPath Energy, which has its Scottish office in Hamilton, is continuing to invest heavily in Scotland and recently secured planning permission for its first battery energy storage project, the Pond Flexible Energy Park near Bathgate in West Lothian. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad It is scheduled to begin construction work on the Mill Rig Wind Farm in South Lanarkshire in the coming months, while it is expecting to start building the Lethans and Lethans Extension Wind Farms near New Cumnock in East Ayrshire within the next eighteen months, and is currently working towards securing planning permission for the proposed Bodinglee Wind Farm in South Lanarkshire. Kype Muir Wind Farm Owned by Brookfield Asset Management, which manages the world's largest fund series dedicated to accelerating the transition to net zero, OnPath Energy is already one of the UK onshore renewable energy sector's leading owner/operators and is aiming to invest around one billion pounds in clean energy projects across the UK over the next five years. Richard Dunkley, CEO at OnPath Energy, says: 'OnPath has ambitious plans to make further capital investment in high-quality renewable energy infrastructure, both in Scotland and across the UK, and is continuing to grow in terms of our diversity of projects and technologies. 'Our commitment to delivering substantial amounts of funding for community improvement projects remains as strong as ever, with the dedication and creativity of the many groups we support every year always being hugely impressive, and we are also working to bring communities with us on the energy transition by creating industry-leading shared ownership commitments. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'We are now working towards increasing the contribution that we can make towards the UK achieving its clean power and Net Zero ambitions in order to amplify the difference we can make to a net zero future for the UK.'
