Project Statistics
The Proposal
- Up to 181 wind turbines and associated roads, substations and powerlines
- A potential installed capacity of 651.6 MW, supplying enough green energy to meet the average domestic electricity requirement of over 20 per cent of Scotland's population, based upon the 2001 census. Power consumption has increased since initial calculations were made for the submission in November 2004, thereby reducing the number of individuals that could potentially be supplied by the wind farm.
- 3-4 years construction phase
- 20 years operational phase
Estimate Job Creation
- 430 jobs supported during 4 year construction programme
- 71 FTE jobs related to operations
- 233 further FTE jobs supported during 20 year lifetime
(Note: Full Time Equivalent: Treasury convention that 10 person years of employment is approximately equal to 1 FTE job)
Annual Revenues and Community Ownership
| Types of Payment | Estimated Annual Revenues (£ million per annum) |
|---|---|
| Crofters Payments | 1.7 |
| Rental Payments | 1.7 |
| Community Benefit Payments | 1.85 |
| Total | 5.25 |
Lewis Wind Power has offered to exchange 'community benefit payments' for a community equity stake of 15 % in the wind farm with the opportunity for the community to invest in a further 5 % on the same basis as other investors.
Note: Payments are annual and based on current proposal reflecting estimated output of wind farm. Estate/Crofter Rental Figures are calculated using the lease fixed rate criteria and will be shared between crofter and landowner. The Estate Community Funds are calculated using current assumed output of wind farm.
Environmental Figures
| Potential Benefits | ||
|---|---|---|
| Number of households for which this wind farm would supply the domestic requirements: | 425,000 (* 495,358 in November 2004) |
|
| Average Annual Units of Electricity Produced: | 1,990 GWh | |
| Annual CO2 Emissions Avoided: | 1,718,000 tonnes | |
| Annual SO2 Emissions Avoided: | 20,000 tonnes | |
| Annual NOX Emissions Avoided: | 6,000 tonnes | |
| Percentage of UK's 2010 10% Renewable Target: | 6% | |
| Percentage of Scotland's 2010 18% Renewable Target: | 36% | |
Note: The calculations behind these figures assume the electricity would have been generated by coal-fired power stations . During the lifetime of the wind farm these figures will be reduced slightly as wind displaces gas fired generation , which produces lower Green House Gas emissions than coal fired plant.
All figures are based on a capacity factor of 35%. (* 495,358 in November 2004 – the revised number is due to the increase in household consumption of electricity since initial calculations).