Work starts on Europe's biggest wind farm in Scotland

LONDON: Work on Europe's biggest onshore wind farm is set to begin Monday paving way for generation of electricity that can power at least 200,000 homes. The farm, with 140 turbines and to be set up at a cost of 300 million pounds, is being located at Whitelee, south of Glasgow in Scotland. Britain's trade and industry secretary Alistair Darling, said it will contribute substantially to energy requirements of the country and in controlling environmental degradation. He said Scotland, which has been the U.K.'s powerhouse, is now getting into the vanguard of renewable sources of energy. Around 16 per cent of Scotland's electricity already comes from these sources, compared to 4 per cent for the U.K. as a whole, he added. The farm will generate 322 megawatts of electricity. Constructed by Scottish Power, it will take some three years to reach completion. It will be three times larger than the existing largest wind farm in the U.K., located at Blacklaw near Forth in South Lanarkshire.