THE first turbines have been installed in one of the UK’s largest wind farms, as part of the regeneration of one of Scotland’s largest surface coal mining sites.

Elaine Stewart, the MP for Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock, praised developers Brockwell Energy for their collaborative approach and welcomed the £65 million the North Kyle site in East Ayrshire will generate in community benefit funds over the project’s lifetime.

Stewart said: “The installation of the first turbines is an important milestone for this flagship project which shows how important it is to have local communities at the heart of developing onshore wind farms.

“Brockwell’s pioneering and collaborative approach is an example to learn from. The 9CC Group model for administering and co-ordinating community benefit funds is also something to celebrate.”

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The 9CC Group is made up of nine communities in the Cumnock and Doon Valley area dedicated to making sure people can access multi-million-pound community benefit funds generated from wind farm developments.

Stewart went on: “The wind sector is key for the achievement of our clean energy and climate goals but we need to make sure we do this in a fair and supportive environment – and most importantly by taking local communities into account and supporting them in the transition.”

Speaking at an event to mark the installation of the first five of 49 turbines, she said: “Building legacies for former coal mine communities is one of my priorities as an MP.

“If co-ordinated correctly, the benefits from this scheme and other surrounding schemes will bring substantial and long-standing benefits to the area.

“The game-changing sums of long-term funding that will arise over the next 40 years will need to be carefully managed to ensure they provide a lasting legacy. It is an exciting opportunity but also one that is very challenging and will need careful and transparent governance and management.”

She added: “The current model of developer-led consultation is increasingly falling short as schemes proliferate. This is where bodies such as 9CC Group are needed.”

Stewart was joined on the visit to the site by Kilmarnock and Loudoun MP Lillian Jones, South of Scotland MSP Carol Mochan, and other local elected politicians.

Each turbine has a maximum tip height of 149.9m and when fully operational in October next year the 49 turbines will generate enough green energy to power the equivalent of 168,000 homes each year.

North Kyle, located 5.5km east of Patna, 6km west of New Cumnock and 2.5km south of Skares, will deliver a minimum of £65m in community benefit over its 40-year working lifespan.

Community benefit is being managed by the 9CC Group. It is a charitable trust uniting the nine communities of Auchinleck; Cumnock; Ochiltree and Skares; Drongan, Rankinson and Stair; New Cumnock; Cronberry, Lugar and Logan; Dalmellington; Patna, and Netherthird.

Alex Baird, 9CC Group chair, said: “This event not only marks a significant stage in the development of the site but also provides an opportunity to thank Brockwell Energy for their collaborative approach to community benefit.

“From the outset, they have been pro-active supporters and, crucially, provided £880,000 in advance funding to help establish our organisation and ensure our local communities benefitted – even before the money from these turbines was planned to come on stream. That’s a powerful statement about Brockwell’s commitment to this area and a welcome endorsement of the work the 9CC Group does on behalf of the people who live, work and play in our communities.”

Iain Cockburn, chief financial officer of Brockwell Energy said: “Beyond the enormous boost to the UK’s drive to a net-zero future, we are proud that North Kyle is already delivering restoration, regeneration and community benefit for the local area. No project has ever delivered so much benefit before it even starts generating.

“The project has been a huge undertaking on a challenging former mining site and is the culmination of years of teamwork with a large number of local stakeholders.

“I’d like to thank the 9CC Group team for their time, effort and commitment to ensure that communities can take control and co-ordinate community benefits money from North Kyle and other schemes to ensure they deliver

long-term legacy benefits that will make a real and enduring difference to their communities.”

Brockwell Energy’s senior project manager Richard Buckland added: “We are not only building a wind farm, we are also helping to re-generate an old opencast coal site. People may be aware of the history of North Kyle and the legacy that the collapse of the coal mining industry has left. North Kyle doesn’t fix all that but I can say with absolute certainty that we will be leaving the site in a far better state than when we started.

“The huge ugly haul roads have been narrowed and reprofiled. Large areas of land that had no topsoils have been reprofiled and spread with excess peat to allow broadleaf planting. This will allow the site to quickly green up and significantly improve ecology diversity.

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“This restoration benefits delivered just by the construction was estimated to be worth £2.6m. We have already far exceeded that amount and carried out a lot more work than planned on the road improvements.

“In addition, we have provided another £2.6m in cash funding to East Ayrshire Council to continue the restoration effort and a further £600,000 to undertake broadleaf planting.

“We are already seeing wildlife coming back to the site despite the construction. The return and successful breeding of our resident osprey sets an optimistic note for the future ecological improvements around the site.”

Stewart – whose maiden speech and first question at Westminster focused on giving support for coalfield communities – told event guests: “The UK Government has committed to doubling onshore wind energy by 2030. The North Kyle Wind Farm, thanks to Brockwell Energy and the 9CC Group, will play an important role in helping the Government achieve this objective.”