Mossmulloch Wind Farm
Vestas Development A/S is exploring an opportunity to develop a wind farm on land 7km south-west of Strathaven with its development partner Force 9 Energy
Current Status
In December 2024, Vestas and Force 9 Energy submitted the planning application for the proposed Mossmulloch Wind Farm. The application was validated by South Lanarkshire Council in January 2025.
If approved, the project will:
Generate enough renewable electricity to power over 32,000 homes per year.
Include five wind turbines of up to 200m to blade tip, with a capacity of 36MW.
Provide a community benefit fund worth up to £180,000 per year.
Result in a biodiversity net gain.
This application follows a Scoping Request and Proposal of Application Notice submitted earlier this year, which initiated an extensive consultation process. Public consultation events were held in May and September 2024.
Public Consultation
South Lanarkshire Council has now validated Vestas and Force 9’s Planning application and has been assigned the reference: P/24/1507.
Members of the public can now make representations on the application by visiting South Lanarkshire Council’s planning portal.
To make an informed assessment of the proposals, the application is accompanied by a comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIAR), a Planning Statement, a Design and Access Statement, and a Pre-Application Consultation Report which are all available for review. Together, these documents demonstrate how the project has been designed to minimise environmental effects in an area identified as suitable for tall turbines under South Lanarkshire Council’s landscape guidance.
The EIAR and accompanying documents are available to view at the Avondale Community Wing (Overton rd, Strathaven ML10 JW), on this website or on Force 9’s website (www.force9energy.com) and are also available on South Lanarkshire Council’s webpage for the application.
The Site
The proposed site is located on land on the eastern edge of Whitelee Forest approximately 7 km south-west of Strathaven and is characterised by a mixture of moorland, conifer forestry plantations, and extensive wind farm development associated most notably with Whitelee Wind Farm.
About Vestas
Vestas is a global leader in sustainable energy solutions. Vestas designs, manufactures, installs and services wind turbines around the world and has delivered more than 177 GW of wind power capacity in 88 countries, which is estimated to have avoided 2.13 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions. Since 2001, Vestas has been active in the United Kingdom and employs around 1,600 staff spanning technology, manufacturing, operations and maintenance, and support functions.
Vestas is funding the development and design of this wind farm project and is committed to supplying the wind turbines, managing project construction and providing long-term operation and maintenance services for the plant.
About Force 9 Energy
Force 9 is an independent, UK based wind farm developer, with a focus on developing sensitively designed onshore wind farms. UK wind farms in operation, or consented by the Force 9 team, have the potential to contribute more than 500 MW of clean, renewable generating capacity in the UK. Scotland has abundant natural resources and is ideally placed to be at the forefront of generating clean, renewable energy. Force 9 always takes careful account of the landscape, environments and communities where our developments may be sited, and is committed to ensuring that sympathetic and sustainable design principles are incorporated into our projects.
You can find out more about Force 9 Energy by visiting our website here.
Project Benefits
Community Benefit
Force 9’s development partner, Vestas, is committed to paying Community Benefit at the Scottish Government recommended rate: currently at a value equivalent to £5,000 per Mega Watt of installed capacity, for every year of operation (anticipated to be 30 years) to help fund community projects. For illustrative purposes, if a 36 MW wind farm is constructed, this would be worth £180k per year (index linked) for local communities, for each year of operation – a total of up to £5.4 million over the project’s lifetime.
Opportunities for Local Businesses
Vestas and Force 9 Energy are committed to giving local businesses every possible opportunity to share in the financial and employment benefits of the construction and operation of Mossmulloch wind farm. If constructed, Mossmulloch will offer opportunities for local businesses such as accommodation providers, hire companies, fencing contractors, tradespeople and machinery plant owners.
If you represent a local business, please contact us and we will register your interest and keep you informed about valuable opportunities for local businesses connected with the wind farm.
Key Facts
Up to five turbines with an output capacity of approximately 36MW
Enough renewable electricity to power over 32,000* homes per year
Up to £180,000 Community Benefit Fund per annum depending on the installed capacity of the wind farm on-site
Biodiversity net gain designed In
*Please note that this figure is based on 5 turbines with an installed capacity of 36MW operating at a UK average capacity factor of 33.72 % capacity and assuming 3,239 is the average UK household electricity consumption in kW hours ( based on statistics from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Jan 2024 (DESNZ)
Timeline
April 2024
Submission of Proposal of Application Notice
May 2024
First Public Consultation
September 2024
Second public consultation
Winter 2024
Target submission
2026
Anticipated construction start date (depending on grid connection date)
2028
Anticipated start of operations
Have your say
Following validation of the planning application by South Lanarkshire Council, members of the public will have the opportunity to submit comments on the application, directly to the local authority.
Details of the application reference number and instructions for submitting comments will be provided on this website once the application has been validated.
Contact
You can contact us via phone: 0141 674 8680 or email: info@mossmullochwindfarm.co.uk