M74 West Renewable Energy Park

Introduction

M74 West Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Glasgow based renewable energy developer Renewco Power Limited, is bringing forward a new renewable energy development at a site northwest of Abington services, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The project is called M74 West Renewable Energy Park (M74 West) and will include up to 22 wind turbines, solar photo-voltaic (PV) generation and a battery energy storage system (BESS).  The proposed development will have a total installed capacity of approximately 295MW.

Following the receipt of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Scoping Opinion from Scottish Ministers via the Energy Consents Unit on 15 April 2024, the application for Section 36 Consent and supporting EIA Report is being prepared.  It is anticipated that a submission will be made in August or September 2024. 

On the lead up to the Section 36 consent application submission, Renewco Power has been consulting the local community on its proposals.  Following a successful event in February a second event is due to take place on the 12th of June 2024.  Further details are provided below.

 

Location

The M74 West site extends over an area of approximately 1,275 ha north and south of the M74, north west of Abington and approximately 4.5 km south east of Douglas, South Lanarkshire, Scotland.  The site is centred around OS grid reference NS 989983 26013. 

Our Proposals

Following our last exhibition in February, the project team has reviewed the feedback received from the local community and consultees, undertaken further surveys, and progressed the design. Key information gathered since the previous consultation event includes noise monitoring at representative locations around the site and more detailed information on peat depths. The design of the solar PV element of the project has also been progressed and the location of the site substation (including the BESS) selected.

The updated proposals for M74 West Renewable Energy Park include:

·        22 wind turbines (approximately 165 MW)

·        Solar PV panels (approximately 80 MW AC)

·        Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), (50 MW capacity)

·        Onsite substation

·        Meteorological mast

·        Internal access tracks

·        Access direct to the site from the B7078, using the existing quarry access, and from the B740

·        New access direct to the site from the M74 (southbound)

The project has a contracted grid connection to the proposed Redshaw Substation, which is being developed by Scottish Power Energy Networks [SPEN] on land adjacent to M74 West. It is proposed that the grid connection will be by underground cable.

Indicative Development Timescale

8th January

EIA Scoping Request submission

8th February 2024

Public consultation exhibition 1

12th June 2024

Public consultation exhibition 2

August/September 2024

Submission of EIA and S36 application

end of 2025

Consent granted

Q3 2026

Discharge of planning conditions

Q2 2027

Start of construction

Q4 2028

Start of operation

Q4 2068

Start of decommissioning

Q4 2069

Decommissioning complete

Public Consultation

Details for our second event are below:

Crawfordjohn Village Hall

Manse Road, Crawfordjohn, ML12 6SR

Wednesday 12th June 2024

3pm – 7pm

The consultation banners presented at the event can be downloaded below.

Following the event, feedback can be provided via our AssetFace page until 10 July – see link below.​

  www.assetface.com/?a=m74west​

 Alternatively, you can complete the below feedback form or email us at: m74west@renewcopower.com​

​

Why is this project needed?

The Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Act 2019, which amends the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009, sets targets to reduce Scotland’s emissions of all greenhouse gases to net zero by 2045 at the latest. Significant additional renewable energy capacity, over and above what is produced today, will be needed to facilitate the decarbonisation of transport and heating as Scotland transitions to net zero.

The wind farm element of the M74 West project alone will be sufficient to power approximately 170,021 homes* and will have a significant role in helping the Scottish and UK governments to meet their emissions reduction and net zero commitments. The BESS will also help balance electricity supply and demand on the National Grid.

In addition to its legally binding emissions reduction and net zero carbon targets, the Scottish Government has set a target of delivering a minimum of 20 GW of onshore wind and up to 6 GW of solar development by 2030. The wind and solar components of M74 West, which could have a combined installed capacity of approximately 245 MW, would make a substantial contribution towards reaching these targets.

* Calculated using RenewableUK’s methodology. Assumed capacity factor of 38.1% is taken from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s (DESNZ) CFD Terms and Regulations Document. Average household consumption of 3.509 kWh is from DESNZ’s latest statistics.

Feedback Form

Privacy Statement 

By filling in this form, you are agreeing that Renewco Power can hold and process your personal data in relation to this public consultation exercise.

  • Renewco Power will only share your personal data with the project team for planning evaluation purposes.
  • Your identifiable, personal data will not be used for any other purposes without your consent.

Renewco Power and the project team will use your data to:

  • Send you updates about the project (where you provide us with your contact details).
  • Develop a Pre-Application Consultation Report and Community Benefit Report (or similar documents) about this public consultation that will be submitted to the planning authority or similar body; these will be publicly available documents. Your comments will be anonymous, and we will only identify you in these reports with your express permission.

If you provide us with your contact details, we might also contact you to ask more about the comments you’ve made.

 

Your details

Your contact details

Your feedback

We welcome your feedback, please provide your commects on the proposal overall:

Community Benefit Questionnaire

The below questions relate to the community benefit banner presented at the community engagement event on the 12th June 2024 and available on this web page. Please take the time to review the banner before answering the questions.

a) Education and Skills
b) Health and Wellbeing
c) Economy and Jobs
d) Environment
e) Culture and Heritage
f) Facilities and Amenities

Do you agree with these investment priorities?


If there are any other issues that should be prioritised for community benefit funding please note them below:
Please rank from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent).
a) The installation of solar PV/thermal and battery storage in homes





b) New electric vehicle charging infrastructure in your community





c) Electric vehicle car club scheme





d) Scholarship scheme





e) Business grant scheme





5. What organisation(s) should manage the distribution of community benefit funds?





Please rank from 1 (most important) to 7 (least important).
a) Proximity to M74 West







b) Visibility of M74 West







c) School catchment areas







d) Housing market areas







e) The funding should be available to the whole of South Lanarkshire







f) The funding should be available to areas in Dumfries and Galloway







g) Other (please specify)







Data Protection

We hold all personal data in accordance with the retained EU law version of the General Data Protection Regulation ((EU) 2016/679) (the “UK GDPR”), as it forms part of the law of England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland by virtue of section 3 of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, the Data Protection Act 2018, the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 as amended, and any successor legislation. Your personal data will not be transferred outside of the EU. You can see our full Privacy Policy and find out how to make a Subject Access Request at the following website address https://www.renewcopower.com/privacy-cookie-policy/ or by contacting us at info@renewcopower.com.

Downloads

M74 Event Rollup Banners Low Res

Download - File size: 4907KB

M74 Event Rollup Banners Low Res (Part 1)

Download - File size: 3322KB

M74 Event Rollup Banners Low Res (Part 2)

Download - File size: 2244KB

Frequently Asked Questions

Wind turbines convert kinetic energy from wind into electrical energy. 

Wind turbine blades rotate when hit by the wind.  It is this spinning motion that turns a shaft in the nacelle – which is the box-like structure at the top of a wind turbine. A generator built into the nacelle then converts the kinetic energy of the turning shaft into electrical energy. This then passes through a transformer, which steps up the voltage so it can be transported on the National Grid or used by a local site.

Larger rotor diameters allow wind turbines to sweep more area, capture more wind, and produce more electricity. A turbine with longer blades will be able to capture more of the available wind than shorter blades.  Deploying larger turbines therefore allows significantly more energy to be produced by fewer turbines within a given area of land than a scheme using smaller turbines.

The site is considered to be suitable for wind farm development for the following reasons:

  • The site is situated amidst a cluster of operational and proposed wind farm developments, including the operational Middle Muir Wind Farm to the west and Clyde Wind Farm to the south east.
  • The site can accommodate a renewable energy development whilst avoiding significant direct effects on areas designated for nature conservation.
  • The site has suitable access for both construction traffic and abnormal indivisible loads.
  • The site has high anticipated wind speeds based on available data.
  • The site has good access to the electricity transmission network.
  • The site is located within a concentration of infrastructure along the M74 corridor, including the motorway, high-voltage overhead lines, transmission gas pipelines, the West Coast Main Line railway and other wind farm development. 

A detailed access review is currently underway to confirm the access routes into the site and it is expected that general construction traffic will access the Site via the M74, B7078, B740 and A702. Access for Abnormal Indivisible Load (AIL) traffic is expected to be direct from the M74 for the part of the site to the north of the M74, and from the B7078/B740 for the remainder of the Site.  Consultation with M6 Autolink , the motorway operator for the M74, is currently being progressed to confirm the most appropriate means of achieving deliveries direct from the M74.

Yes, a community benefit package will be offered.  This will be consulted upon both through our in-person events and a new engagement platform being developed by a specialist third party software designer, BizGive.  This platform will make engagement on community benefits easier, clearer and more transparent.  It is anticipated that this platform will be launched in the coming months.  

Please note that the community benefit fund is independent of the planning process and is not a material consideration in deciding the application.

Get in touch

We are interested in engaging with wind and solar asset owners, land-owners, developers and funders.

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