Shepherds’ Rig Wind Farm given the green light

An application to develop a wind farm near Carsphairn in Dumfries and Galloway has been given the green light by the Scottish Government following a public inquiry in November 2021. The proposal, submitted to the Scottish Government under Section 36 of the Electricity Act in December 2018, consists of up to 17 turbines with an installed capacity in excess of 50 megawatts (MW) and is located to the east of Carsphairn within a commercial forestry plantation.

The Shepherds’ Rig project is being progressed by Boralex, a Canadian independent power provider with a large portfolio of operational wind farms, solar farms and hydro schemes, who acquired UK-based renewables developers Infinergy in July 2022 with an ambition to grow the portfolio of ready-to-build and operational renewable energy assets in the UK to 1GW by 2030.

“We are boosting deployment of development capital and operation capabilities in the UK, which we regard as a high-potential market for developing onshore wind as well as solar and energy storage facilities. This represents a great contribution to the geographic diversification of our activities, a key element of our Strategic Plan. We are confident that our experienced UK team can get the pipeline successfully operational in the coming years and Shepherds’ Rig plays an important part in that plan,” said Nicolas Wolff, Vice President and General Manager of Boralex, Europe.

Project Director Richard Frost said: “Shepherds’ Rig is a well-sited and designed project which will contribute to Scotland’s efforts to abate climate change and provide an opportunity for the local community and businesses to benefit further from onshore wind development. I am delighted that we can now move forward with this project.”

The team will now make preparations for financing as well as contract negotiation. It is hoped that local businesses will be well placed to supply their services to this project, enabling job security and economic growth in the area.

All of the application documents are available in the downloads section of the project website: www.shepherdsrigwindfarm.co.uk