The development of the Binn Wind Farm by Green Cat Renewables is a major step forward for Binn Group’s aspirations to develop an advanced eco-park concept using their resource management facility as an anchor development.
With growing concern on climate, biodiversity and pressure on non-renewable resources, new models for industries to decarbonise are urgently needed.
Four 2.3MW turbines are currently under construction at Binn Ecopark. These will form the core of a private grid at the Binn. Battery systems are expected to be added in due course, improving the baseload availability of renewable energy. Excess power will be exported through a new grid connection. This will transform power use at the site which is currently highly dependent on costly diesel generation which does not have a positive impact on the environment.
After a recent collaborative agreement with Perth and Kinross Council to expand the Council’s available employment land by supporting development at the Binn Ecopark, the number of small businesses locating to the site is expected to increase over the next few years. The opportunity also exists to link the site – with its low carbon, circular economy, clean technology focus – to other related projects across the Tayside area as the Tay Eco Valley concept grows.
Low carbon energy provided by the wind farm will be a major catalyst to these opportunities, helping the facility attract customers who want a lower cost, low carbon energy supply.
Scotland’s renewable energy sector continues to grow in spite of a less than supportive UK renewable energy policy framework. The potential for renewable power systems co-located with industry is in its relative infancy in the UK.
By demonstrating the potential for private grids embedded with businesses, the Binn Ecopark project hopes to demonstrate the potential of private grids to a much wider audience.
In due course, it would be encouraging to see these systems provide energy to local communities. Meanwhile, the intention is for two of these turbines to be community-owned, returning a long-term revenue stream to local communities.