A BID to extend the lifespan of a proposed wind farm near Kirkconnel has been given the green light by councillors.

The planned development of eight wind turbines at the disused Glenmuckloch surface coal mine will now be able to operate for up to 30 years after the first date electricity is exported from the site to the National Grid.

The application, by Glenmuckloch Renewable Energy Limited (GREL), was backed by members of the planning applications committee at Dumfries and Galloway Council.

The company had previously secured permission to operate the site for 25 years, but the bid for a five-year extension was approved by the committee on October 12.

In addition, permission was granted for a new standard three-year time period for work to start on the project – which, according to papers considered by the committee last week, is scheduled to be connected to the National Grid in October 2026.

The application was approved just a few months after approval was given for a ‘hydroelectric pumped storage generating station’, capable of generating up to 400 megawatts of electricity, to operate on part of the Glenmuckloch site for up to 120 years.

The eight turbines will also lie close to the site of the previously-approved Lethans wind farm, which is proposed to feature 22 turbines, the largest with a maximum tip height of 220 metres.

The Glenmuckloch turbines previously secured planning approval in June 2016 – while an amendment seeking permission to increase the maximum turbine tip height from 133.5 metres to 149.9 metres was given the green light in February 2019.

Both those approvals were against the recommendation of planning officers from the council – though this time officials recommended that the extension of the wind farm’s lifespan to 30 years should be approved.

Earlier this month it was announced that a deal had been reached for Foresight Energy Infrastructure Partners to invest in the Glenmuckloch project - including both the wind farm and the pumped storage hydro.

Under the deal, Buccleuch Estates, which owns the land at Glenmuckloch, will no longer have any day-to-day involvement in the project, with Foresight's energy transition fund leasing the site, which covers 1,547 acres.