The contractor will start construction immediately on the £79m Whitelee Wind Farm near Glasgow

Galliford Try has won a £79 million construction contract for the biggest onshore wind farm in Europe.

The contractor will start work immediately the Whitelee Wind Farm project for Scottish Power at Eaglesham Moor, south of Glasgow.

The wind farm covers an area approximately 5,500 ha in size and will include the construction of 140 turbine bases and 90km of access roads. The work will be carried out by Gallford Try’s Morrison Construction business in joint venture with Balfour Kilpatrick.

It is expected the farm will eventually provide enough electricity to power 200,000 homes save 720,000 tonnes per year of carbon dioxide emissions.

Greg Fitzgerald, chief executive of Galliford Try, said: “In just three years we have established ourselves as an industry leader in the renewable energy sector. This is our third wind farm for Scottish Power, and the contract to work on the Whitelee project, Europe's largest onshore wind farm development, reinforces our position at the forefront of a growing and strategically important market.”