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Statkraft is at the heart of the UK’s energy transition. Since 2006, Statkraft has gone from strength to strength in the UK, building experience across wind, solar, hydro, storage, grid stability, EV charging, green hydrogen and a thriving markets business.

Statkraft is a global company in energy market operations, more than 7,000 employees in over 20 countries.  

We’ve invested over £1.4 billion in the UK's renewable energy infrastructure and facilitated over 4.3 GW of new-build renewable energy generation through Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs). 

Across our UK businesses we employ nearly 500 staff in England, Scotland and Wales and play a key role in helping the global business reach its goal of 9 GW of developed wind and solar power by 2025.

Read more about Statkraft UK.

Across Scotland, we majority own or operate five wind farms - in Caithness  Moray, South Lanarkshire and Dumfries and Galloway.

In addition to An Càrr Dubh we are also progressing several wind farms through the development process with the aim of submitting to the relevant body to determine the application, Local Authority or Energy Consents Unit, in due course. 

The project introduced in May 2021 consisted of 26 turbines up to 200m to tip height and it was this proposal that was presented at our first exhibitions in June 2021. During the period following the exhibition to November 2021 we refined the site, taking onboard the feedback of consultees and the local community. The key changes were the removal of 5 turbines and the reduction in turbine tip height for all turbines within the 21 turbine proposal to 180 metres to tip height. We presented the 21 turbine to 180 tip height proposal at our second exhibition in November 2021.

At the time of the exhibition and since it was noted that the wind farm and the infrastructure was likely to be refined further ahead of submitting an application. Over the past year following feedback from the second round of public exhibition and further studies on site we set out details of a proposal consisting of up to 13 turbines up to 180 to tip height in November 2022 to local community councillors and stakeholders.  Details were also available to view on our website here.

This proposal of 13 turbines all to 180m has been submitted to planning and takes on board local community and statutory consultee feedback and delivers a site that balances landscape and visual feedback and onsite constraints while delivering a good energy output to help reach our net zero goals. 

The site is located in Argyll and Bute with Inveraray the nearest town.  While the site boundary is 1km west of Inveraray and 2.5km east of Dalavich, the nearest turbine in the current layout is approximately 6km to the north-west of Inveraray and over 4.5km to the east of Dalavich.

The wind assessment for An Càrr Dubh indicates that this site has excellent wind resource. The estimated generation of the site is the equivalent to powering c. 95,800 homes. (Based on 13 x 6.6MW turbines, wind resource assessment and average Scottish domestic consumption of 3,520kWh per annum (published by BEIS December 2021).

Did you know that less than 10% of the land area in Scotland is suitable for wind farm development? We need to maximise those sites to boost renewable energy generation and contribute to Scotland’s net-zero commitments. Onshore wind contributed to the UK’s 2020 electricity generation as energy produced by renewables made up 42% of the UK’s electricity last year compared with 41% generated from gas and coal plants together.

Onshore wind is part of a wider mix of energy generation with National Grid ESO using the most cost-effective mix of generation to balance supply and demand to make sure electricity is always there when people need it.

A substantial part of the proposed development site was the subject of the Ardchonnel Wind Farm being developed by RWE Innogy.  Where relevant, findings of the previous application have been, and will continue to be taken into account.

This is a new and separate application with no involvement from RWE Innogy.

The proposal submitted to the Energy Consents Unit consists of 13 turbines with a maximum blade tip height of 180m.

Our original proposal was for the up to 26 turbines up to 200m to tip height.  Following consultation and community engagement over 2021 and further studies on site, the 13 turbine proposal has been submitted.

You can see the proposed layout of the windfarm and a copy of the full application here and it is also available on the Energy Consent Units Website .

Should you wish to make a representation to the application these must be submitted to the Energy Consents Unit (ECU) via:  

• the Energy Consents Unit website at www.energyconsents.scot/Register.aspx;  
• email to representations@gov.scot;  
• post to the Scottish Government Energy Consents Unit, 4th Floor, 5 Atlantic Quay, 150 Broomielaw, Glasgow G2 8LU  

Representations should identify the proposal and set out the grounds for representation. Written or emailed representations should be dated, clearly state the name (in block capitals), full return email and postal address of those making representations.  

All representations should be received by the ECU no later than 30 days after the last advert is published in the Argyllshire Advertiser on the 21 April 2023 (the 30 days does not include public holidays) although Ministers may consider representations received after this date.  

The application will also seek consent for the necessary infrastructure and other requirements for the project. This will include, tracks, a substation, laydown areas, a compound, site entrance, habitat management areas and other ancillary infrastructure.  There is the opportunity to consider battery storage on site too.

The proposed Port of Entry (POE) is Campbeltown, which is judged to be the closest suitable port to site. 

This route has been used previously for other wind farm deliveries like An Suidhe and Garraig Gheal Wind Farms the majority of works on the A83 are already in place for component delivery. Therefore, at this stage we believe this is the best route to minimise disruption. 

If consented, a Traffic Management Plan would be agreed in advance for the turbine deliveries.  There will also be a Traffic Management Plan in place for the construction traffic associated with the site. 

The application will also seek consent for the necessary infrastructure and other requirements for the project. This will include, tracks, a substation, laydown areas, a compound, site entrance, habitat management areas and other ancillary infrastructure.  There is the opportunity to consider battery storage on site too.

The proposed Port of Entry (POE) is Campbeltown, which is judged to be the closest suitable port to site.

This route has been used previously for other wind farm deliveries like An Suidhe and Garraig Gheal Wind Farms the majority of works on the A83 are already in place for component delivery. Therefore, at this stage we believe this is the best route to minimise disruption.

From the A83, we have committed to delivery through one route which would aid the delivery of turbine and other infrastructure to the core development site. Fianl details of the route will be outlined as part of the Section 36 application to be made to the Scottish Government in late 2022/early 2023 with the associated assessments included.

If consented, a Traffic Management Plan would be agreed in advance for the turbine deliveries.   There will also be a Traffic Management Plan in place for the construction traffic associated with the site.

The proposals are for turbines up to 180m to tip. This has been reduced from up to 200m following community feedback and further studies of the site.

The proposed wind farm is situated in upland moorland and no trees are present on site. If the project is consented, some tree felling will be required to facilitate the delivery of wind farm infrastructure, but we will seek to minimise any forestry loss.  

In Scotland, there is a requirement to replant any felled trees.  Trees are carefully considered as part of the wind farm development process and this information is publicly available in the application documents.

Statkraft is at the forefront of battery and grid stability projects, which are increasingly vital as the amount of renewable energy generation in the UK increases.

Statkraft is assessing the potential for storage at this site, which will be included as part of the consent for the project.  The Section 36 application will include associated assessments in relation to the battery storage element of the site. 

Since introducing the project in May 2021, we have held two public engagement periods (June 2021 and November 2021) and carried out further studies on site for the proposal throughout this time. We have taken into account feedback from the community and consultees to help finalise the design of the project.

The final layout of the project now consists of up to 13 turbines up to 180m, reduced from 26 turbines at 200m when it was first introduced. We want to thank everyone who has engaged with us to date to help us deliver a proposal which we believe balances the energy output while delivering a proposal that fits with the current surroundings and constraints on site.

You can find the layout here.

We submit a Section 36 application to the Energy Consents unit at the end of 2022 /early 2023 giving the community a formal opportunity to comment on the plans as part of the statutory consultation process. The full application will be available on the ECU website and on this website along with details of how to make your representation about the project.

Application documentation will also be placed on depository with details of where this can be viewed outlined in the submission.

Find out more about the project timeline for An Càrr Dubh here: Home An Càrr Dubh Wind Farm.

If interested, whether a local resident or a business, you can register for updates on the project and we will contact you as we progress the plans.  We follow all GDPR guidelines in relation to personal data and you can opt out at any time.

You can use the contact details provided if you would like to chat directly with one of the Statkraft team on An Càrr Dubh.

The Scottish Government made clear during Covid-19 that investment should continue where possible, but that this should not be at the expense of community consultation and engagement. We followed all Scottish Government guidance in relation to engaging with communities during Covid-19. The regulations put in place during this period have now been suspended.

We held our first public engagement event virtually and then our second event was held in the local community, we were pleased to be back out speaking and hearing from local community members.

Where Face to face meetings have not been possible due to the Covid-19 pandemic we offered and took part in virtual meetings with Community Councils to keep the local community updated.

We aim to submit a Section 36 application (to the Scottish Government) late 2022/early 2023.  There will be an opportunity to provide a formal representation to the Scottish Government at this time. We will keep our project website updated with news on how to do this. We also hope to hold local information session on the project at the time of submission.

On this page you can ask a question and one of the team will respond as soon as possible.  

If you would like to discuss any aspect of the project now please use the  request a 'Call back' form.We encourage everyone who visits this site to provide feedback and comment. Find everything here: Get in touch

For those who are unable to access our website, they can address their letter to 'Statkraft Freepost' (no stamp required) and it will make it to our team who can respond with an answer. Alternatively, they can phone us on 0800 772 0668 (local call rate applies).

Yes. Even with our subsidy-free wind farms, we commit to a community benefit fund based on the Scottish Government recommended amount, which is £5,000 per MW installed. In addition to community benefit, if consented, and there is interest within the community, we can explore a community investment opportunity.

We also look for other ways our projects can bring meaningful benefits to the community such as offering shared ownership, the potential for improved access to broadband (External link), and using local suppliers.

We will follow the Good Practice Principles for Community Benefits as set out by the Scottish Government and have no strong preference how a fund is administered - we want the community to help decide how best a fund is administered for the local area. 

We would like to hear the views of the community on all aspects of how a fund can bring meaningful benefits locally.  Please fill in the feedback form here:Get in touch if you would like to share your ideas regarding initiatives for community benefit funding.

We are often asked by people if we can help deliver faster broadband, or even get them connected in the first place. 

We need high quality broadband to operate our wind farms, including for An Càrr Dubh Wind Farm if it is consented.  As we require broadband, we have committed to explore whether it can also help benefit the local and wider community as well.  We believe we are the only developer to commit to funding a feasibility study to look into the potential for fibre and wireless line of sight broadband for all our wind farm projects.

We are committed to offering shared ownership of the wind farm and are happy to follow this up should there be interest within the community to explore this further.

We work with Local Energy Scotland to explore community ownership opportunities and we can arrange separate meetings with them if there is interest.

Yes. We have a Local suppliers registration link on the website and please get in touch if you are a local business and interested in the project.  We plan to organise 'Meet the Developer' events for businesses in the future and we are dedicated to working with the local supply chain.