Scotland moves…closer to target of generating 50% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020

Europe's largest onshore wind farm open and ready to expand

Scotland moves step closer to target of generating 50% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020

guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 20 May 2009 11.24 BST

Europe's largest onshore wind farm, which is already powerful enough to meet Glasgow's electricity needs, is to expand by more than a third as part of a major green energy initiative by Scottish ministers.

The first minister Alex Salmond announced that the http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2006/oct/10/energy.money">322MW Whitelee wind farm south of Glasgow had been given permission to increase its capacity to 452MW, as he officially switched on the wind farm this morning.

The disclosure came as plans for an even larger scheme, to build a vast community-owned 150 turbine, 540MW scheme on Shetland, were lodged with the Scottish government.

Both projects would significantly boost Salmond's plans for half of all Scotland's electricity to come from green sources by 2020. The interim target – to generate 31% of electricity from renewable sources by 2011 – has already been surpassed, officials said.

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