CleanEarth acquired an existing planning permission for a turbine at Craigannet Farm, and saw the project through to completion by securing an alternative grid connection with the local District Network Operator (DNO).
The original grid connection called for 12 km of routing for the 11 kv cable, which rendered the project unviable and led to its abandonment. But when CleanEarth stepped in and secured an Active Network Management (ANM) offer into a nearby 33 kv line, the cable route dropped to just 1 km.
The remote location of Craigannet Farm still presented some challenges in accessing the site. So CleanEarth’s site and project management teams upgraded and extended an existing forestry commission track, sourcing materials by quarrying stone on site to reduce any wider environmental impacts throughout construction. This new track facilitated the transport of the 41 m turbine blades.
The 1.5 MW wind turbine at Craigannet Farm has an annual output of over 4.6 million kWh, enough to power the equivalent of a thousand UK homes. And it will save more than 40,000 tonnes of CO2 over its 25 year lifetime.
