The area around Eskdalemuir in southern Scotland is widely recognised as an untapped resource for onshore wind development, with the opportunity to create up to 6 GW of capacity, enough to power 3 million homes, generate up to £10 billion of private investment and support 8,500 jobs.
In Eskdalemuir, CWP Energy alone has shovel-ready projects of circa 750 MW with grid connection which would generate around £1.5 billion inward investment, 1,200 jobs and enough electricity generation for 500,000 homes, while removing 1 million tonnes of carbon emissions each year.
But for almost two decades, development of wind power resources in the area has been prevented by a planning restriction regarding the Ministry of Defence’s Eskdalemuir Seismic Array, a nuclear test seismic sensor station. This restriction has been justified by claims that wind development in the area would create ground vibrations that might interfere with the Array’s operation.
We know that Government and industry are keen to get on with enabling onshore wind development in Eskdalemuir, so we are proposing a proven permanent solution to upgrade the Array, protecting national security while allowing clean energy projects to go ahead.
The upgrade would replace surface sensors with deep-borehole seismometers, moving sensors hundreds of metres underground where they are shielded from surface vibration. Globally, equivalent upgrades have been successfully completed for major primary arrays in the same sensor network, located in Brasilia, Brazil and Sonseca, Spain.
CWP Energy is ready to fully fund and deliver this upgrade with the Ministry of Defence, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and Scottish Government. We would be able to deliver the full upgrade using UK-made sensors and Scottish drilling firms within 12 months. Our proposal is backed by other developers and suppliers across the onshore wind industry, including the leading global turbine supplier, Vestas, and our international investors.
Our solution would unlock the maximum potential renewable development in southern Scotland. It would strengthen the UK’s reputation for attracting long-term investment, resolve the issue for all developers in the region and power growth in artificial intelligence, data centres and advanced manufacturing, while sustaining and potentially improving the quality of data from the Array, even with Wind turbines nearby.
