Costs for the project will amount to £166 million (€201 million /$272 million)

Jan 20, 2014 07:59 GMT  ·  By

It would appear that, in the not so distant future, the Loch Ness monster will have to adjust to a change of scenery. This is because high officials in Scotland have agreed to give the thumbs up to plans to erect a wind farm on the bank of the lake that this creature calls its home.

According to Business Green, the current Scottish Energy Minister, Fergus Ewing, went public with the news that this green oriented project had secured the approval of the country's government this past Friday.

At that time, he stressed that, although the wind farm's developers could move forward with their initiative, they would nonetheless have to prove that the facility would cause as little damage to the environment as possible before construction activities could begin.

The same source tells us that, when completed, the proposed wind farm on the bank of Lock Ness will comprise 32 turbines whose combined energy generating capacity will be one of 108 megawatts.

This power output is expected to meet the demand of several dozen households in Scotland. What's more, the wind farm is sure to benefit the country's economy by providing people with new job opportunities, and help Scotland improve on its ecological footprint.

“The Bhlaraidh wind farm will create jobs both in its construction and during its lifetime, and once up and running will save thousands of tonnes of carbon dioxide each year,” Energy Minister Fergus Ewing said in a statement.

“With this wind farm we will now be able to produce enough electricity to power the equivalent of approximately 50,900 homes,” he went on to explain.

SSE, i.e. the British electric utility company behind this initiative, estimates that costs for this project will amount to £166 million (€201 million /$272 million).

Once up and running, this new wind farm near Invermoriston in the Scottish Highlands will help the country meet its goal of generating as much green electricity as households and businesses across its territory consume on a yearly basis.

As Fergus Ewing put it, “Wind farms like this provide considerable benefits to their local community, and play an important part in helping Scotland reach its target of the equivalent of 100 per cent of electricity demand generated from renewables.”