The Scottish government has approved plans to increase the size of a South Lanarkshire wind farm. Hamilton-based Banks Renewables has received permission from the Scottish government’s Energy Consents & Deployment Unit (EDCU) for its Kype Muir Extension wind farm, south of Strathaven.
The 15 turbine, 51MW, expansion will increase the total capacity at Kype Muir to 139MW and turbine population to 41.
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Energy bills are set to rise for manufacturers in the face of a new government initiative, which promises reliable resources of capacity. A report by Inprova Energy suggests that the government’s new capacity market surcharge will add around £378m in total to manufacturers this year. The increase will represent a hike of around 1%, which is actually smaller than the forecast.
The capacity market surcharge is part of the government’s electricity market reform, which looks to enhance the security of British electricity supplies by ensuring there is sufficient reliable capacity to meet demand. The scheme entails provider to put in tenders for peak times and receive an annual allotment, after which they must ensure the power requirements and demands are met.
Inprova Energy expects Capacity Market costs for Winter 17/18 to add 0.129 pence per kWh to bills, but cautions that this Is a national average and will not necessarily be reflective of what individual customers pay.