Consent awarded for Clashindarroch II Wind Farm

The £90m project is located in North East Scotland next to Vattenfall’s Clashindarroch Wind Farm, which has been generating fossil fuel free electricity for over seven years.

Once operational, Clashindarroch II will take Vattenfall’s funding to local communities in the region to over £835,000 annually. In addition, the wind energy developer is keen to engage with the region’s supply chain to maximise business opportunities in the scheme.

Combined, Clashindarroch II and Vattenfall’s already operational Clashindarroch Wind Farm will produce enough fossil free electricity to meet the equivalent demand of more than 82,000 UK households, and annually prevent more than 116,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere.

At Vattenfall’s operational Clashindarroch Wind Farm, works on peat bog restoration and tree planting have been completed, which will help protect nature and the climate, whilst also providing good habitat for the Scottish Wildcats living in the forest. 

As part of Vattenfall’s plans for Clashindarroch II the company will continue to improve wildcat habitat by developing wildcat habitat corridors to link Clashindarroch forest to other surrounding large woodland blocks. Additional improvements include managing the riverbanks on site and creating artificial den sites, suitable for wildcats to shelter and raise their kittens, as well as looking to create a bigger area for wildcats to roam. The company has also pledged to recruit a full-time project officer to monitor and improve conditions for the wildcats and fund a project which will help to deal with the problem of domestic and feral cats interbreeding with the wildcat – which is the biggest threat to the Scottish wildcat population.

Frank Elsworth, Vattenfall’s Head of UK Onshore Wind Development, said:

“I am delighted that Clashindarroch II Wind Farm has been granted consent. This isn’t just good news for helping Scotland to achieve its net zero goals, but also for the local economy, which will benefit significantly.

“We have a strong track record of working with Scottish suppliers to maximise local value. We want to build on our approach at South Kyle Wind Farm, where independent analysis has found the wind farm’s development and construction spend within Scotland amounts to £93.4 million.

“Clashindarroch II will provide further investment for local community projects, whilst also supporting skills development, jobs and local supply chains.”

Vattenfall will now consider the consent decision in detail before confirming the forward schedule. The company will also resume its talks with local partners on shared ownership.

Vattenfall’s proposal for Clashindarroch II Wind Farm was scrutinised and carefully considered through a Public Local Inquiry in 2022, following a Section 36 application in 2019.

Find out more about Clashindarroch II Wind Farm here.