Whitelee Wind Farm facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Whitelee Wind Farm |
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Whitelee wind farm with the Isle of Arran in the background
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| Country | Scotland |
| Location | Moor Rd, near Eaglesham, East Renfrewshire |
| Coordinates | 55°42′45″N 4°20′28″W / 55.71250°N 4.34111°W |
| Status | Operational |
| Commission date | May 2009 |
| Owner(s) | Scottish Power |
Whitelee Wind Farm is a giant wind farm located on the Eaglesham moor in Scotland. It's the biggest onshore wind farm in the United Kingdom. It's also the second largest in Europe, after the Fântânele-Cogealac Wind Farm in Romania.
Whitelee has 215 huge wind turbines. These turbines can produce a total of 539 megawatts (MW) of electricity. This is enough power for many homes! The wind farm was built and is run by ScottishPower Renewables. This company is part of a Spanish company called Iberdrola.
The Scottish Government has set goals for clean energy. They wanted 31% of Scotland's electricity to come from renewable sources by 2011. Their goal for 2020 was to get 100% of electricity from renewable energy. Most of this energy is expected to come from wind power.
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What is Whitelee Wind Farm?
Whitelee Wind Farm is located 300 meters (985 feet) above sea level. It is about 15 kilometers (9 miles) outside Glasgow, Scotland's largest city. More than half a million people live within 30 kilometers (18 miles) of the wind farm. This makes Whitelee one of the first big wind farms built close to a city.
In May 2009, Alex Salmond, who was the First Minister of Scotland at the time, officially opened Whitelee. However, the wind farm started making power even earlier. The first part of the wind farm began sending electricity to the power grid in January 2008.
In late 2018, the BBC's Weather World show visited the farm. The Control Centre Manager, Mark Gailey, said that Whitelee would produce 6 GWh (gigawatt-hours) of power that day. This was a record-breaking amount!
Visiting Whitelee Wind Farm
Whitelee Wind Farm is a popular place for eco-tourism. It has a special visitor center on site. The visitor center has an interactive exhibition room where you can learn about wind energy. There's also a cafe, a shop, and an education area. It opened to the public in September 2009.
The visitor center also gives access to over 90 kilometers (56 miles) of paths. These paths are great for cyclists, walkers, and people riding horses. The Glasgow Science Centre manages the visitor center. They offer fun activities for school groups and other community groups. There is also a free charging station for electric cars.
Whitelee Wind Farm has a Countryside Ranger Service. This service is run by the local councils. The rangers help people enjoy the wind farm and the surrounding area. They also offer free activities and events for the public all year round. The Ranger Service encourages groups to use the paths for fundraising and charity events.
Mountain Biking at Whitelee
In January 2014, work began on a special mountain bike course at the wind farm. It was built in a hollow area that was once used to get stone for building the wind farm. This project was started because many people wanted more challenging mountain biking trails at Whitelee.
The course was designed by Phil Saxena, who also designed Olympic and Commonwealth Games bike courses. It offers different levels of trails for everyone, from beginners to experienced riders. The course has various route options, tricky sections, and challenges. There's also a large picnic and viewing area with shelters. The facilities cover about 12 hectares (30 acres) and are free to use every day.
The wind farm also hosts an annual running event called "Run the Blades." Runners can choose from a 10K race, a half-marathon, or a 50K ultra-marathon.
In June 2012, Whitelee Wind Farm became the first wind energy project in Scotland to join the Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions. This happened after nearly 250,000 people had visited the site since it opened in July 2009. ScottishPower Renewables said that almost 10,000 students had visited Whitelee on school trips. Also, about 100,000 more people used the wind farm's trails for activities like jogging and cycling. By 2020, the visitor center had welcomed over 700,000 visitors. The length of the walking and cycling tracks also increased to 130 kilometers (80 miles).
Lochgoin Farm and Monument
The wind farm area includes Lochgoin Farm. This farm was the home of the Howie family. In the 1600s, it was a safe place for Covenanters, who were a religious group. Government soldiers searched the farm many times.
In the 1700s, John Howie from the farm became a writer. He wrote books about the lives of Covenanting martyrs, starting in 1775. In 1896, a stone obelisk (a tall, thin monument) was put up nearby. It was built "in memory of John Howie, author of the Scots Worthies." You can reach this monument using the paths from the visitor center. The farm also has a small museum with items from the Covenanters. You might need to check if it's open before you visit.
Whitelee Wind Farm Expands
In May 2009, the Scottish Government allowed the wind farm to get bigger. This expansion would add up to 130 more megawatts of power. This would have increased Whitelee's total power to 452 MW.
In 2010, an extension with 75 new turbines began. This added another 217 MW of power, enough to power over 124,000 homes! This brought the wind farm's total power capacity to 539 MW. The extension also added 44 more kilometers (27 miles) of trails to the site.
In August 2012, Scottish Power wanted to add five more turbines to the west side of the wind farm. This would have added 12 MW of power. However, this plan was not approved in October 2016.
A new battery storage system is being added to the wind farm. It costs about £21 million (US$29.35 million) and can store 50 MW of power for 50 MWh (megawatt-hours). This helps the wind farm use its energy more efficiently.
Images for kids
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some of the 215 turbines (2019)
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ten turbines (2019)
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close aerial view (2019)
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Lochgoin (2019)
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