An onshore windfarm set to power 350,000 homes in Scotland has faced delays due to growing costs and the UK’s windfall tax on renewables.
Developer Community Windpower called on the government to exempt new projects from its windfall tax on renewables - introduced earlier this year - after projected costs of building the Sanquhar II site have grown from around £300 million to £500 million.
The 44-turbine project has faced a “triple whammy” of high inflation, growing interest costs and a weak pound, the company said in a statement.
“We’ve run the financial models. We cannot get the return on capital that we need to cover the bank requirements for financing," managing director Rob Wood said.
Community Windpower’s project, which is located in southwest Scotland, could be online by 2025, the firm added, but has “ground to a halt”.
Major developer Vattenfall paused work on the giant Norfolk Boreas offshore windfarm - set to power 1.5 million homes - in July over similar concerns.
Community Windpower called on the government to exempt new projects from higher taxes, adding investment allowances should also be granted in line with rules for North Sea oil and gas firms.