Scotland opens national forests to 500MW of wind

Scotland has opened its national forests to four wind developers seeking to build as much as 500MW of new capacity, arousing anger from anti-wind campaigners but praise from oft-critical environmental groups.

Last year the Forestry Commission of Scotland carved the country’s forests into five lots and put them up for tender, imposing rules to ensure local communities reap financial benefits from any new projects that get built. The forests cover nearly 10% of the country.

The zones were awarded as follows:

  • Lot 1, covering southwest Scotland, went to ScottishPower Renewables, owned by Spain’s Iberdrola.
  • Lot 2, covering central Scotland, went to Germany’s PNE Wind.
  • Lots 3 and 5, covering the west and northwest of Scotland respectively, were awarded to the UK arm of…

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