Last night (Thursday 2nd September), BayWa r.e. was awarded the Sustainable Development Award at the Scottish Engineering Awards 2021.
Scottish Engineering is a major industry association for Scotland's manufacturing and engineering sectors, with over 350 members. The widely respected Scottish Engineering Awards celebrate both inspiring individuals and exceptional organisations, who are the epitome of Scottish excellence. This year, the awards particularly celebrate the companies who in 2020/2021 have stood out in their performance, growth, innovation, and resilience, as well as young engineers paving the way for the future of the industry.
BayWa r.e. was recognised with the coveted Sustainable Development Award by the organisation against a strong pool of talent, for demonstrating excellence within its projects in Scotland in the past year.
Discussing the reason for BayWa r.e.’s award, Paul Sheerin, chief exec of Scottish Engineering commented: “Operating 100% carbon neutral, they have the distinction of developing and completing the UK's first subsidy free windfarm at Inverclyde where construction was completed in 2020, and now generates green energy at market price without government subsidy. Their approach to the communities they operate in, and the community of employees within BayWa r.e., is a stand-out example of the benefits of real commitment to training investment, diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
Inverclyde Windfarm: The UK’s First Subsidy-Free Development
One of BayWa r.e.’s major projects in Scotland that received notable commendation, is the Inverclyde Windfarm. Completed in late 2020, the windfarm, located south of Port Glasgow and Greenock, consists of 8 wind turbines each 110m tall and was the first subsidy-free development in the UK.
The windfarm produces 24 MW of clean, renewable energy which is enough to power around 44% of Inverclyde households and compared to conventional, non-renewable energy sources would displace over 18,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually. As Inverclyde’s only commercial scale windfarm it significantly increases Inverclyde’s current contribution to Scotland’s renewable energy targets.
Community benefits of the site include provision for public parking to provide access to the site to enable the public to walk on the network of windfarm tracks.
Inverclyde Windfarm has also committed to paying an annual community benefit payment, this fund will be launched following commissioning of the windfarm and further details about the fund will be available at that time.
Gordon MacDougall, Managing Director, BayWa r.e. UK Limited commented: “All of us at BayWa r.e. are honoured to receive the award for Sustainable Development in what has been an extraordinary few years. We’ve been fortunate to be able to work remotely throughout and are grateful for the support of Scottish Engineering in providing help and guidance to ourselves and the industry during this time. BayWa r.e.’s commitment to sustainable development runs through our entire company, and reflects how we act and operate as a business, and how we work with our customers and partners.
“We are also very proud to be receiving this award in Glasgow, in the year the city plays host to the world with COP26. This decade will prove crucial to that future and we are more determined than ever to play our part in driving forward the renewable transition, creating long-term investment and job opportunities, and ensuring a sustainable future for us all.”
Other award winners include: Intelligent Growth Solutions Ltd, Spirit AeroSystems (Europe) Ltd, and RUA Medical Devices Ltd.
