Scotland green lights more wind projects

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EDINBURGH, Scotland, March 4 (UPI) -- The Scottish government said that more than 80 percent of new renewable energy projects under consideration are for offshore wind developments.

Edinburgh said it was reviewing applications for 46 renewable energy projects, of which 38 are for onshore wind. Since 2007, the Scottish government said it's given consent to 79 new energy projects, including 32 onshore wind energy projects.

The government said its given partial consent to the onshore Aikengall II wind farm, which would have 19 turbines with a generating capacity of more than 68 megawatts. That's enough energy to meet the annual demands of about 32,000 homes in eastern Scotland.

"In consenting the application, I have put a number of conditions in place to protect local wildlife and to minimize environmental impacts, including to set noise limits for the wind farm," Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing said in a statement.

Ewing said Aikengall II would have three fewer turbines than planned to mitigate concerns over aesthetics.

In December, Edinburgh said figures from the British Department of Energy and Climate Change indicate it generated 15.2 percent more electricity from renewable energy during the first three quarters of 2012 than during the same period last year.