E.On has just received planning permission from South Lanarkshire Council for the development of a 29.9MW wind farm consisting of 13 turbines able to power around 20,000 homes. The development, located on land at Dungavel Hill, south of Strathaven, Scotland, should help offset around 40,000 tonnes of Carbon Dioxide per year.
The permission granted by the local council will allow E.On to help the Scottish Government achieve its’ Green Energy Targets of 31% by 2011 and 50% by 2050. Ahmed Mulla, E.ON’s project developer for Dungavel, said:
“This is excellent news for us and another step towards helping Scotland meet its renewable energy targets.”
The scheme will also bring contract opportunities to local employers in the region. During the construction phase there are expected to be between 50 and 60 contractors working on site.
South Lanarkshire Council are also pleased as E.On have agreed to make a minimum contribution of £60,000 per year to the Council’s Renewable Energy Fund for the lifetime of the project.
In response to these community and social initiatives, Ahmed Mulla commented:
“We’re especially pleased the planning report recognised the benefits this project will bring to the local community and beyond.”
The above development is another positive development for E.On and another example of how a large multinational is now trying to make serious efforts to balance environmental considerations with the need to make profit.
The above development follows a similar announcement back on 07 October this year, when E.On decided to shelve plans for a new coal-fired power station at Kingsnorth. That would have been the first one built for three decades. But E.On recognised that Britain didn’t need another Coal Fired power station, particularly in light of the constant deluge of environmental pressure from a variety of organisations spearheading ‘The Big If and Give Coal The Boot’ campaign.
These positive environmental developments are increasingly helpful to E.On as their Environmental Performance is measured partly by the amount of energy that they source as a Company from Renewables. EU targets require the UK to source 20% of their overall energy requirements from Renewables by 2020. The latest Fuel Mix data provided by Suppliers indicated that E.On are sourcing 0.3% of their energy from Renewables so developments like Dungavel will only serve to help their environmental performance longer term.
