News & Media

In March 2025, the Vale of Leven project team submitted ‘Additional Information’ to the Energy Consents Unit to reduce the height of the turbines for the project and address consultee responses regarding the proposed development.

The original application was for 10 turbines, up to 250m to blade tip in height. We have amended the application to reduce the height of the turbines – all turbines are now proposed to be up to 220m to blade tip in height. The number of turbines stays the same at 10 turbines and the capacity of the project remains unchanged at 70MW.

The updated scheme was advertised in the Lennox Herald and Dumbarton Reporter (online) in March 2025 and all the updated documents are available on the Energy Consents website www.energyconsents.scot under the ECU application reference: ECU00003468.  A hardcopy of the application documents is available at Balloch Library for members of the public to view in person. We have also uploaded the application documents in the Documents section.

The Vale of Leven Wind Farm project includes a proposed community benefit package of £5,000 per MW of installed capacity (index linked) per annum. Although the turbine height has reduced, the installed capacity of 70MW remains the same – this means the proposed Community Benefit Fund of £350,000 per annum for the lifetime of the project remains unchanged. In addition to community benefit, we are committed to offering shared ownership of the project, giving the local community the opportunity to invest in the wind farm.

We are a member of the Dunbartonshire Chamber of Commerce and are committed to working with local businesses and commissioned the Chamber to produce a Local Supply Chain paper – we want to ensure that the project’s environmental and economic benefits stay in the local area should the project be consented.

The project is still to be determined by the Scottish Government.

The proposed Vale of Leven Wind farm will be considered by the West Dunbartonshire Council’s Planning Committee in August 2024.

Councillors will determine the Council’s view on the application for Vale of Leven Wind Farm and provide its response to the Scottish Government’s Energy Consents Unit. As the project is a S36 application – a development over 50MW in scale – it will ultimately be determined by the Scottish Government, with the Council being a key consultee to the planning process.

The Vale of Leven Wind farm proposal, located to the east and north east of the Vale of Leven area, is for up to 10 turbines up to 250m to tip in height, with a capacity of 70MW for onshore wind. The proposal includes plans to co-locate battery storage on site to maximise the use of the grid connection.

The Vale of Leven Wind Farm proposal includes a proposed community benefit package of £5,000 per MW of installed capacity, which would generate £350,000 per annum for the lifetime of the project. In addition to community benefit, the development will be offered as a shared ownership wind farm, giving the local community the opportunity to invest in the wind farm.

The project team held exhibitions to showcase the plans before submitting an application in Autumn 2023. A series of Information Days to highlight the submitted project was held in Balloch, Gartocharn, Dalmonach and at the Loch Lomond Rugby Club.

James Baird, Coriolis Energy Project Manager for the Vale of Leven proposal said:

“West Dunbartonshire Council has an opportunity to support a large renewable energy project that will make a significant contribution to the local and national net zero targets as well as bring substantial economic investment into the area. The development will provide clean, renewable energy as well as community benefit for the local area and includes the offer of shared ownership of the wind farm for West Dunbartonshire.”

The Vale of Leven project team would like to thank residents and community representatives who made it along to the Information Days in Balloch, Gartocharn, Bonhill and at the Loch Lomond Rugby Club on the 28^th and 29^th of November.

The Information Days gave us an opportunity to present the project that has been submitted to the Energy Consents Unit and provide information on how to make a representation as well as the next steps in the planning process.

The closing date to make a representation is 10 December 2023 (although the Energy Consents Unit may take representations after this date) and you can find details on how to do that here. Please find a link here to the Information Boards.

 

A Section 36 Planning Application for Vale of Leven Wind Farm has now been submitted to the Energy Consents Unit by Coriolis Energy.

The Vale of Leven Wind farm proposal, located to the east and north east of the Vale of Leven area, is for up to 10 turbines up to 250m to tip in height, with a capacity of 70MW for onshore wind, if consented, this could deliver enough renewable energy to power over 50,000 homes. The proposal also includes co-located battery storage to maximise the use of the grid connection.

The Vale of Leven Wind Farm proposal includes a proposed community benefit package of £5,000 per MW of installed capacity, which would generate £350,000 per annum for the lifetime of the project. In addition to community benefit, the development will be offered as a shared ownership wind farm, giving the local community the opportunity to invest in the wind farm.

The project team will hold a series of Information Days to showcase the submitted project and for local residents and organisations to examine and discuss the application with the project team. The Information Days will take place at:

The Balloch House, Balloch on Tuesday 28 November 2023, 12noon – 3pm;

Kilmaronock Millennium Hall, Gartocharn on Tuesday 28 November 2023, 4.30pm – 7.30pm; 

Loch Lomond Rugby Club, Beechwood Drive, Alexandria on Wednesday 29 November 2023, 12noon – 3pm; and

Dalmonach Community Centre, Bonhill on Wednesday 29 November 2023, 4.30pm – 7.30pm.

The Vale of Leven planning documents can be accessed online at the Energy Consents Unit’s website at www.energyconsents.scot under the application reference: 00003468.

We would like to thank all stakeholders for their feedback to date. We have a fixed wind farm design and we are finalising submission documents with the aim of submitting an application in October 2023. Shortly afterwards, we will announce a series of further local Public Exhibitions where we will provide details of the proposed development.

Vale of Leven Wind Farm Ltd are very proud to sponsor the Renton Craigandro FC 2009 boys team kits this season and we wish them all the best for the season ahead.

We would like to thank everyone who took the time to attend the Exhibition Event at the Loch Lomond Rugby Club on the 23 March and for the feedback on the proposal, which included positive, neutral and negative comments on the wind farm plans.  We will take into account comments as we progress the project.

We aim to submit an application in Summer 2023 and will hold further information events at submission.  Thank you.

We are pleased to share that we will be hosting a public consultation event at the Loch Lomond Rugby Club, Beechwood Drive, Bonhill on Thursday 23rd March 2023 from 2pm to 7pm to provide local residents with the latest news and updates on the proposal and the associated community offering.

The Vale of Leven Wind Farm proposal includes a community benefit package of £5,000 per MW of installed capacity, which would generate approximately £350,000 every year (index linked) for the lifetime of the project. The community benefit would be for the surrounding communities of the wind farm and we are keen to hear views from residents and groups on ideas around the use of community benefit. In addition to community benefit, the wind farm will be set up as a community/shared ownership wind farm, giving the local community the opportunity to invest in and have a stake in the wind farm.

Members of the project team will be on hand at the event to answer questions and listen to views in relation to all aspects of the proposal. Any questions or feedback can also be sent via the Get in Touch page of our website, or by email to info@valeoflevenwindfarm.com.

We are pleased to announce that drop in Public Exhibitions for the Vale of Leven Wind Farm proposal will be taking place as follows:

Kilmaronock Millennium Hall, Gartocharn, G83 8N – Tuesday 11 October 2022, 2pm – 7pm

Balloch House Hotel, Balloch, Alexandria, G83 8LQ- Wednesday 12 October 2022, 2pm – 7pm

Dalmonach Community Centre, Bonhill, Alexandria, G83 9AU – Thursday 13 October 2022, 2pm – 7pm

As the wind farm proposals begin to take shape, information and materials on the project will be available and members of the project team will be on hand to answer questions and listen to views in relation to the wind farm proposal.

Feedback forms will also be available at the exhibition locations. You can also provide feedback via this website via the form on the Get in Touch page, or by sending an email to info@valeoflevenwindfarm.com.