Online Exhibition

Since our public exhibitions in June 2022, we have been refining the design for the proposed Solwaybank Extension Wind Farm, following results of technical and environmental surveys and feedback from stakeholders and the local community.

A number of design changes have been made including reducing the size of the scheme to 21 turbines and reducing the tip height of 11 turbines. In addition, turbines have been moved away from areas of deep peat and to avoid encroaching on watercourse buffers.

We have also changed the name of the project to Bloch Wind Farm to better reflect its location close to Bloch Hill.

On Tuesday 4th October we launched an online exhibition to present the updated plans for the wind farm. Further information is provided below and hard copies of this information are available upon request – please contact us for more information.

We are also be running drop-in sessions in the area, where information on the updated plans will be available to view and members of the project team will be on hand, to answer any questions or for further information.

Tuesday 4th October 2022

9.30am to 1.30pm

Canonbie Public Hall

Tuesday 4th October

3pm to 7pm

Eskdale Hotel, Langholm

Wednesday 5th October

2pm to 6pm

Waterbeck Public Hall

Design Layout and Infrastructure

Click on image to enlarge

The plan to the left shows the updated layout for the Bloch Wind Farm, which consists of 21 wind turbines, up to 230m tall.

The wind farm is likely to have an installed capacity of up to 126 megawatts (MW) and will be capable of providing renewable electricity for around 100,000 homes¹

A number of changes have been made to the site layout, since our public exhibition in June 22. These include reducing the scheme from 22 to 21 wind turbines and reducing the tip height of 6 wind turbines to 200m and 5 wind turbines to 180m. Wind turbines have also been moved to avoid areas of deep peat and to avoid encroaching on watercourse buffers. Further information on the design changes can be found here.

In addition to the wind turbines and foundations, the site infrastructure is expected to include:

hardstand areas for erection cranes at each wind turbine location
a network of tracks including passing places and site entrances from the public road
borrow pits (dependent on availability of stone on site)
a substation compound containing a control building and communications mast
a compound for energy storage
temporary construction compounds.

What Would the Wind Farm Look Like?

We have produced indicative visualisations and wirelines to help give an impression of what the updated design of the wind farm could look like from different viewpoints in the area. Click on the links to view.

Viewpoint 1 - High Stenries

Viewpoint 4 - Milltown

Viewpopint 6 - B6318 northwest of Claygate

Viewpoint 7 - Langholm Bridge

Viewpoint 8 - Malcolm Monument, Langholm

Viewpoint 10 - Burnswick Hill Fort

Zone of Theoretical Visibility

Click on image to enlarge

We have also produced an indicative Zone of Theoretical Visibility (ZTV) Map showing where the turbines could be visible from.

Please note that this is based on bare land form without taking into account any screening effects of trees and buildings.

In response to feedback from the first public exhibition we have reduced the area presented to 15km to improve readability and included adjacent wind farms in operation, in planning or in scoping for context.

Supply Chain Opportunities

The proposed Bloch Wind Farm is predicted to deliver approximately £5.8 million of local economic benefit in the form of jobs, employment and the use of local services.

Some of the skills, services and materials which are likely to be required include:

civil engineering
groundworks
electrical works
steel fixing
plant operators
labourers
cleaners
plant hire
crane hire
concrete & aggregates
local accommodation

If you’re a local business who may be able to offer skills or services during the construction or operation of Bloch Wind Farm and would like to know more about the project, please contact us.

Solwaybank Wind Farm Construction Team

Commenting on the Proposal

We welcome feedback on the updated plans. Comments should be made in writing using this form. Please contact us if you would like to receive a hard copy of the comment form.

The closing date for comments is Friday 21st October 2022.

Please note that comments submitted to RES at this time are not representations to the determining authority (Scottish Government’s Energy Consents Unit). There will be an opportunity to submit representations to the determining authority should an application be made.

^{1 The homes figure has been calculated by taking the predicted annual electricity generation of the site, based on a preliminary design (based on RES assessments Bloch has a predicted capacity factor of 33%) and dividing this by the annual average electricity figures from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) showing that the annual UK average domestic household consumption is 3,748 kWh (Dec 2021).}