Organisation Name: Crossdykes Wind Farm (Muirhall Energy Ltd)
Contact Name: Jason Morin
Crossdykes Wind Farm is a 15 turbine, 48MW proposal which received planning consent by Dumfries and Galloway Council in May 2016. The development is 13km north-east of Lockerbie and 11km north-west of Langholm and is located wholly within a ‘Search Area’ for Large Scale Wind as defined by Dumfries and Galloway Council
Muirhall Energy is in discussion with a number of local community groups interested in shared ownership of the wind farm. To date, The Upper Eskdale Development Group (UEDG) have been awarded a grant by CARES to assess the feasibility of shared ownership and have enlisted the services of Scene Consulting to advise on this exciting opportunity. It is intended that UEDG act as an interface between Muirhall Energy, Scene Consulting, CARES and other interested Community groups during the feasibility stage with project information being disseminated to groups participating.
Should the shared ownership offering be taken up, the 10% share of the wind farm company which is available will be split between community groups. The shared ownership offer is not related to and will not affect other community benefit measures including a community benefit fund of £5,000 per Megawatt of installed capacity; or the variety of programmes supporting young people in employment training in the Annandale & Eskdale area, which is being offered through Muirhall’s new partnership with Springboard – a charity dedicated to promoting hospitality and tourism as the career of choice throughout the UK.
Muirhall Energy is seeking to agree the structure for shared ownership and will formalise the financial terms once the wind farm design is finalised and agreed through planning consent.
Project Details
The development was consented by Dumfries and Galloway Council in May 2016, following a full application for consent submitted under The Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 as amended by the Town and Country Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006, in May 2015. An Addendum to the Environmental Statement was submitted by Muirhall in January 2016.
The development is 48MW in capacity. This is achieved through a 15 turbine layout with the candidate turbine being a Siemens 3.2-101. The turbines will have a base to blade tip height of up to 130m and an installed capacity of 3.2MW. There is not yet an estimated capacity factor for the site but we expect to achieve above the Scottish average of 27.8%[1].
The capital cost for the development is estimated at £63.2million[2]. The development costs for taking the project to financial close are not yet known due to the uncertainty in the planning process and the potential requirement to budget for an appeal.
Up to 10% of the wind farm company is available for equity investment. We are currently in talks with several community groups who have expressed interest in investing in the wind farm.
We have released press statements and have featured in the Annandale Herald and the Eskdale and Liddesdale Advertiser.
We have been working with community councils and development trusts since mid-2014 and through ongoing discussions, we have agreed that the developer / community partnership will include for shared ownership, a community benefit fund, and several programmes in the Annandale and Eskdale region specialising in supporting young people in employment training, through our new partnership with Springboard UK.
Community groups participating in the shared ownership offer will be invited to invest in shares following planning consent. This recognises that the design of the wind farm is subject to change during the planning process and in response to the comments received from consultees and the general public. We are therefore unable to provide specific information on the investment structure including the level of investment sought and the potential returns.
The submission of the application for consent was publicised in the local press and the consultation period ran from 28th May until 25th June 2015.
Timescales
The full application was consented by Dumfries and Galloway Council in May 2016, following the submission of the application in May 2015 and an Addendum to the Environmental Statement in January 2016.
[1] The long term average load factor for onshore wind in Scotland: 27.8%. Department of Energy & Climate Change Published: 25 September 2015. (Accessed 29/01/2016. Available from URL: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/regional-renewable-statistics
[2] RenewableUK Onshore Wind: Economic Impacts in 2014