Project plan
Discover our vision for Bodinglee Wind Farm. Learn more about the project, view the designs and other useful project documents.
Design considerations
Since 2021, we’ve been busy meeting with and listening to the views of the local communities around the proposed Bodinglee Wind Farm, taking into account local feedback to help develop our masterplan.
We also conduct in-depth site assessments which consider all stages of the project lifecycle: construction, operation and decommissioning. The site layout at Bodinglee is the result of an iterative design process reflecting these steps.
You can explore this interactive masterplan online. You can also book a face-to-face meeting with member of the project team.
Native Woodland
Native tree planting
We will plant native broad-leaved tree species on the edges of commercial forestry plantations
This will provide:
A softer appearance to these plantations in the wider landscape, as well as improving biodiversity and sequestering carbon from the atmosphere
Roberton Drove Roads
Roberton Drove Road
We will re-establish parts of the historic Roberton Drove Road within the Site which used to connect Douglas to Roberton, and provide links with other core paths.
This will provide:
A new community and public asset, promoting tourism and access to the outdoors.
Enhanced Access
Access to Land:
We will introduce new footpaths linking the villages of Douglas, Roberton and Rigside. With new signage and interpretation boards focussed on the natural environment on and nearby the site.
This will provide:
Access for local communities and an enhanced experience of the natural environment.
Commercial Forestry
Commercial Forestry
Remove several small plantations of Sitka spruce from the landscape around Roberton and replace with broad leaf indigenous species
This will provide:
Improved biodiversity, soil quality and carbon capture as well as creating woodland more sympathetic to the local area.
Heather Restoration
Heather Restoration
We will restore iconic heather landscape on the local moorland on and around our Bodinglee site.
This will provide:
A key role enhancing the habitats of local species. This will also benefit the local landscape character and the nearby Special Landscape Areas.
Community Land
Community Spaces
We will facilitate the purchase or use of land for nature-based projects such as a community gardens, flower meadows or beekeeping
This will provide:
A space for communities to engage with nature, grow tood, learn about the natural environment and come together.
Peat Bog Restoration
Peat Bog Restoration
We will restore, enhance and manage natural peat bogs on-site and off-site.
This will provide:
A habitat for a range of species as well as storing thousands of tonnes of carbon dioxide, tackling nature-loss and climate change simultaneously.
Douglas Valley Landscape Enhancement
Douglas Valley Improvements
We will enhance the designed landscape which surrounds the remains of Douglas Castle, working closely with the estate, Historic Environment Scotland and South Lanarkshire Council to improve its value to local heritage and encourage visitors
This will provide:
A strong local asset for residents and a key draw for tourists to visit the area
Upland Birch Scrub
We will plant upland birch scrub along watercourses on and nearby the Bodinglee site.
This will provide:
A boost to a habitat that has been lost from the site, benefiting a number of local species like Black Grouse. This will also benefit the character of the landscape.
Why we chose the site
– Excellent wind resource – Scotland boasts some of the best wind speeds in Europe and this site is in a great location within the country. Our nearby Middle Muir Wind Farm has delivered a consistently high yield since it became operational.
– Excellent transport links – the proximity to the M74 minimises the disruption on local communities for construction.
– Available grid connection and nearby infrastructure – this avoids the need for large amounts of grid infrastructure to stretch across the country to connect to the grid.
Community consultations
Listening to local views
We based our first round of consultation on the feedback from the communities around the site. A survey proposed various ideas based on the feedback from discussions with community councils, local experts and other local people within the region. The survey was organised into three key themes and we asked respondents to rank the ideas in order of personal importance.
Design alterations based on your feedback
We listened to your feedback during the consultation period and reduced the size of the site to remove almost a third of what was first planned to the south east of the boundary.
This reduction also allows us to consider different uses for this area of land whilst still maintaining a significant site which will provide thousands of homes with clean electricity to play a large part in Scotland’s path to net-zero, tackling climate change for generations to come.
Timeline
Our path to success
There are many stages involved in developing a wind farm and many opportunities to get involved and have your say. Take a look at the main stages of the process and find out where we currently are in the process.
2021: Pre-planning consultation complete
To gain initial local feedback to help us shape the consultation process tailored to specific community needs.
July 2022: Initial community consultations complete
Extensive engagement in person and online with the
August 2022: Spring 2023 Design process and second events complete
We carefully designed the proposal based on community feedback and held additional community events to ensure our updated designs aligned with local needs and wishes.
Spring 2023: Planning permission submitted complete
Government Energy Consents Unit (ECU) seeking consent for Bodinglee Wind Farm Extension. The application also applies for a direction under Section 57(2) of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 for planning permission for the development to be deemed granted.
Spring 2023 – Spring 2025: Planning decision expected progress
We hope for a successful outcome to enable us to start generating clean energy for thousands of homes.
2026 – 2028: Construction
We’ll be working with local businesses as much as possible to construct the wind farm and battery storage.
2029 onwards: Operational
We’re expecting the site to be operational and delivering 266 MW of green electricity into the grid.
Project features
High efficiency turbines
Bodinglee will deploy the latest in high efficiency renewable technology. With modest increases in size, the current technology is able to produce over 7MW per turbine – enough electricity for 5,000 households.
This allows a smaller site to deliver up to 259MW of clean electricity. It is our expectation that larger capacity turbines will be available at the time of the construction phase, which would allow for an even higher site capacity and community benefit fund.
Project Features
Battery energy storage system (BESS)
We are proposing a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) for the site which will directly support the wind farm’s ability to store the electricity it generates at times when production is higher than demand. Our current design includes up to a 106 MW battery which will be located on the site itself.
The BESS will:
• Store electricity from the site and the grid when demand is low and supply the grid with low cost electricity when demand is high.
• Play a key role in helping Scotland deploy renewables by directly addressing the intermittency issue and helping balance the demand & supply of electricity.
• Help reduce energy bills over the long term and provide a key part of Scotland’s journey to net-zero.
• The battery alone will displace around 20,000 tonnes of CO2 from the electricity grid annually, the equivalent of 12,000 cars being taken off the road every year.