{"id":8810,"date":"2026-11-04T08:23:27","date_gmt":"2026-11-04T08:23:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/scotland\/?p=8810"},"modified":"2026-11-04T08:23:27","modified_gmt":"2026-11-04T08:23:27","slug":"smartestenergy-signs-deal-with-thrive-renewables-on-whitelaw-brae-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/scotland\/news\/8810-smartestenergy-signs-deal-with-thrive-renewables-on-whitelaw-brae-project","title":{"rendered":"SmartestEnergy signs deal with Thrive Renewables on Whitelaw Brae project"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>SmartestEnergy has signed a Purchase Power Agreement with Thrive Renewables for the Whitelaw Brae project in the Borders.<\/p>\n<p>Whitelaw Brae is owned by Fair Play Clean Energy, a joint venture between Thrive Renewables and TopCashback Group.<\/p>\n<p>This marks Thrive\u2019s largest onshore wind project to date. Once operational, the 14 turbines should generate up to 149,400 MWh of electricity per year; equivalent of powering around 45,000 UK homes and delivering 63,000 tonnes of emissions reductions.<\/p>\n<p>Will Russell, development manager at SmartestEnergy, said: \u201cThe project is Thrive Renewables\u2019 first transmission-connected asset, so they were looking to collaborate with an experienced partner with the flexibility and technical expertise to support its route to market requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Monika Paplaczyk, investment director at Thrive Renewables, added: \u201cWhitelaw Brae supports our company\u2019s five-year goal of doubling the generation capacity of our portfolio by 2028, whilst also benefitting the local community and enhancing nature on site.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The project is aiming to enhance biodiversity with native tree planting and the creation of a new network of foot paths across the site, which will form part of the River Tweed Trail.<\/p>\n<p>It should also provide a community benefit fund of \u00a3285,000 a year, and Thrive Renewables is also offering an opportunity for the local community to purchase a stake in the wind farm.<\/p>\n<p>The final period of construction is now underway at the project site, located near Tweedsmuir, with energisation planned to start before the end of the year. Once operational, the project is expected to generate electricity for at least 30 years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Awarded a Contract for Difference in Allocation Round 7, the project should be operational by the end of this year<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":278857,"featured_media":8811,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[120780],"coauthors":[137126],"class_list":["post-8810","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sustainability","tag-featured-story","tag-south-of-scotland"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>SmartestEnergy signs deal with Thrive Renewables on Whitelaw Brae project<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Awarded a Contract for Difference in Allocation Round 7, the project should be 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