First offshore wind farm in Scotland a go

KIPPFORD, Scotland, July 24 (UPI) -- Energy officials say the Robin Rigg Wind Farm in Scotland's Solway Firth is set to produce electricity for the country's national grid.

Jenny Hogan, a Scottish Renewables senior wind energy officer, said the Robin Rigg farm will represent the first offshore wind farm in Scotland's history when it begins producing electricity in the next few days, The Scotsman reported Friday.

"Scotland's first commercial offshore wind farm heralds the dawn of a new era in harvesting green energy from our seas," Hogan said.

The Robin Rigg site will initially power up eight of the farm's turbines to produce electricity, but will continue activating additional turbines until the farm is fully activated.

The wind farm is expected to produce electricity for nearly 120,000 homes in Scotland while significantly cutting back on the country's carbon dioxide emissions.

Renewable energy firms also have plans for 10 additional wind farm sites in Scottish territorial waters. Those sites could potentially generate 6.4 gigawatts of electricity once completed, the Scotsman said.