AROUND 30 jobs are to be created locally through a £10 million wind farm extension contract.

Glasgow-based contractors RJ McLeod will help to deliver 15 turbines to the Kyle Muir wind farm extension project near Strathaven in South Lanarkshire.

A further 50 local subcontractors will also be drafted into help construct the site - which will add to 26 turbines already in operation. 

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The extension will become the UK’s first onshore wind farm with 200-metre tall turbines.

Jamie Corser, Business Development Manager at RJ McLeod said: “We’re delighted to be back working with Banks Renewables, off the back of successful contracts at the original Kype Muir wind farm and nearby Middle Muir wind farm.

“Being a Scottish company that’s been around since the 1950s, employing locally to sites is something we have always believed in and something Banks has always believed in. We’re very much on the same page.”

Construction work is due to start in the coming weeks with the aim of generating electricity by the end of 2022. 

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Gordon Thomson, head of projects, Banks Renewables, said: “It’s great to be working with RJ McLeod again after the excellent relationship we built with them during the construction of our Middle Muir and Kype Muir wind farms.

“Onshore wind farms deliver significant investment in rural areas in Scotland. Our Kype Muir wind farm alone will invest almost £100 million3 locally to nearby communities around Strathaven over its lifetime.”

“The new extension at Kype Muir will not only provide a financial boost to local economies, but also provide job opportunities for local people too.

“RJ McLeod’s commitment to employing locally was very clear from the beginning of the tendering process and is one of the factors which made it the ideal candidate to work with on this project.”