New wind farm to power Amazon's operations

A new Scottish wind farm has started providing green power for Amazon's operational centres across the UK.

The 50MW, 14-turbine Beinn an Tuirc 3 wind farm on the Kintyre peninsula was built by ScottishPower Renewables.

Amazon is buying 100% of its output to power its data centres, corporate offices and fulfilment centres under a Power Purchase Agreement.

ScottishPower said Beinn an Tuirc 3 was the largest wind farm in its portfolio to be built without government support.

Amazon reported that it was its first operational renewable energy project in the UK.

UK manager John Boumphrey said: "Amazon is on a path to powering our operations with 100% renewable energy by 2025, five years ahead of schedule.

"Investing in clean energy and working across all of our operations to become more efficient is just one of the many actions we are taking to reach our commitment as part of The Climate Pledge to be net-zero carbon by 2040."

In a separate development, the Scottish government has said it strongly supports upgrading existing wind farms with more advanced turbines as part of plans to double onshore wind capacity by 2030.

A consultation has been launched on how to secure an extra eight to 12 gigawatts (GW) of onshore wind by the end of the decade.

Scotland currently has 8.4GW of installed wind generation, although up to 2.5GW of this is expected to reach the end of its consented life by 2030.

The consultation document says ministers want to see "repowering" - installing more modern and powerful technology - rather than life extension or decommissioning, as well as bringing new sites online.

Increasing onshore and offshore wind was part of the SNP-Green co-operation agreement signed earlier this year.

Speaking on a visit to Kype Muir Wind Farm in South Lanarkshire, Net Zero and Energy Secretary Michael Matheson said: "We need bold action to tackle the climate emergency.

"Onshore wind is one of the most cost-effective forms of large-scale electricity generation and is vital to Scotland's future energy mix as we transition to a net-zero economy.

"Our draft onshore wind policy statement outlines the huge potential for this technology, and assesses the significant economic opportunity of future deployment, particularly in light of our green recovery aspirations."

Industry body Scottish Renewables welcomed the launch of the consultation.

Policy director Morag Watson said: "There will be significant challenges to overcome, particularly in the capacity of the planning system to deliver timely consents.

"But as we head into COP26, industry looks forward to working with the Scottish government to overcome these barriers to cement Scotland's position as a world leader in both onshore wind and action on climate change."