If consented, it would help to reduce Scottish Water's electricity bill. It has the capacity to potentially generate 138GWh of electricity per annum. Should the development be approved, Eneco has confirmed a community benefit package of £5,000 per MW per year throughout the lifetime of the project.

“Renewable energy projects that deliver real benefits such as energy savings to customers like Scottish Water are at the heart of Eneco's sustainability mission,” said Guy Madgwick, director of Eneco UK. “The Macritch Hill project would not only help Scottish Water reduce its energy costs, but will also support the Scottish Government's target of generating the equivalent of 100% of Scotland’s own electricity demand from renewable resources by 2020.”
 

Eneco was awarded the rights to explore the Macritch Hill wind farm development in 2012, and has since undertaken an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and technical surveys to determine the scale and design of the proposed wind farm. A series of public consultations and correspondence with key stakeholders have also been carried out to help understand the wider needs and concerns from the community.
 

The final design incorporates changes made as a result of feedback from the community, and results from both the EIA and technical surveys. These include reducing the number of turbines from 33 to 18, and dropping the blade tip heights to reduce visual and landscape impacts.
 

Eneco’s UK wind portfolio includes Scottish onshore projects: Tullo and Twinshiels Wind Farms, fully operational with a combined generating capacity of 42MW, located in Laurencekirk, Aberdeenshire; Burn of Whilk Wind Farm (22.5MW) located west of Wick, Caithness - currently under construction; Moy Wind Farm (60MW) in The Highlands - currently under construction; Lochluichart Wind Farm (69MW) in The Highlands - fully operational and Macritch Hill, a proposed 54MW wind farm located in Angus that is being developed in partnership with Scottish Water. Eneco is also a 50:50 development partner in the Navitus Bay offshore wind project located to the west of the Isle of Wight. In November 2013, the company acquired its first solar project in the UK - the 10MW Sevor Solar Farm near South Marston, Swindon.
 

Eneco applies an integrated distribution strategy and specialises in the production, transmission, trading, supply and metering of energy (electricity, gas and heat) and related products and services. In the coming years, Eneco plans to make substantial investments in the area of sustainable energy, including wind power, solar power, biomass and heat.