Our work with Forestry Commission Scotland
Partnerships for Renewables (PfR), the Carbon Trust Enterprise business set up in 2006 to work with the public sector to develop, construct and operate renewable energy projects, is currently investigating the potential for wind energy projects on a number of Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS) sites. The sites, located in the central belt, are part of an overall Scottish Government drive to generate clean and renewable energy and reduce the effects of climate change.
In October 2009, the Commission split the national forest estate into six separate regions with the intention of appointing commercial partners to help it investigate and deliver wind energy projects. PfR were appointed in early 2010 to cover the Borders and central belt area and have been working with the Commission over the past year to explore sites at Carron Valley, Heathland, Cloich and Wauchope.
Some new sites are now being looked at for their wind energy potential. These will be announced shortly although they are still at a very early stage of investigation and screening.
Any site which is deemed suitable for development after more thorough environmental and technical studies, will offer an opportunity for communities to not only benefit economically from projects but ensure that they are involved in the site development process.