Glasgow City Council is set to become the UK's first council to own and operate a wind farm, generating £40m. Scotland's largest local authority could sell electricity if it proceeds with its plans to set up one turbine, rising to five if it proves successful. A five-turbine site would also generate the equivalent power needed to run all streetlighting in Glasgow and would save 18,000 tonnes of CO2. Once costs have been deducted a single turbine would generate £8.5m over 25 years. Details of the proposal will be presented to the council this week following the conclusion of a business case undertaken by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, a year after the idea was first floated by the council. The authority told a local newspaper that a joint venture with a private operator is the preferred option. The next steps, once a preferred strategy is chosen and legal advice sought, would involve risk workshops and market soundings with European procurement law, meaning the search for a partner could take up 18 months.
