Deputy First Minister Nicol Stephen today (Thursday) officially opens the UK's largest wind project - ScottishPower's Black Law windfarm near Forth in South Lanarkshire.

Black Law marks a major change in the scale of ScottishPower's renewable business with the project almost doubling the company's wind power capacity and making it the largest wind power generator in the UK.

The £90 million windfarm delivers an output of 97MW from 42 turbines enough clean green energy to power 70,000 homes. It will also reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by a massive 200,000 tonnes each year.

John Campbell, ScottishPower's Director, Energy Wholesale, said: "As the largest UK windfarm, Black Law is a hugely important achievement for ScottishPower. The environmental challenges facing our planet are enormous, and we need to continue the rapid expansion of our wind energy programme if renewable targets are to be met and emissions of greenhouse gases reduced. Black Law is the first of several large ScottishPower windfarms currently in development, including the 322MW Whitelee project which, together with Black Law, will meet half of Scotland's renewable energy targets." 

The project is located on the site of an abandoned opencast mine which was completely restored to shallow wetlands by ScottishPower during the windfarm construction programme.

The windfarm also incorporates an extensive habitat management project, covering over 14 square kilometres (equivalent to approx two thousand football pitches), the largest such project ever undertaken by any UK wind developer. ScottishPower worked closely with environmental bodies including, RSPB, Scottish Natural Heritage, local councils and the landowners to create suitable habitats to encourage valued species such as long-eared owls, black grouse, farmland birds and badgers.

The windfarm has received wide recognition for its contribution to environmental objectives, and was recently awarded the title "Best Renewable Project" at the Scottish Green Energy Awards and voted one of the best renewable projects of 2005 by the Department of Trade and Industry.

Simon Zisman, the central Scotland conservation officer for RSPB, said: "Black Law has taken a badly scarred site and vastly improved it. The terrible damage done by opencast mining has been reversed. As well as improving the landscape this will benefit a range of wildlife notably breeding waders and farmland birds. It would be fantastic to see the level of commitment and resources invested in this project by ScottishPower continued throughout the rest of the industry."

The local communities of Climpy and Forth played an essential role in the development of the project. A series of exhibitions and feedback sessions yielded valuable information allowing the company to design the project in the most appropriate manner. These communities are also benefiting directly with the creation of a Trust Fund which provides £100,000 annually to promote local projects of an environmental, educational or charitable nature.

Further Information: 
Simon McMillan                                          0141 566 4875 or 07753 622 257