The Scottish Government has given consent for the construction of the 22 turbine Creag Riabhach wind farm on the Altnaharra Estate, near Lairg in the north Highlands.

The wind farm will have a generating capacity of 72.6 megawatts, enough to power 36,000 homes, with estimated savings of 66,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.

The proposed development is anticipated to provide more than £9 million of community benefit.

“The proposal received widespread support from the public and local community council who emphasised the suitability of the location and highlighted the benefits to the local economy,” said the Scottish Government.

“The Highland Council was consulted on the application and raised no objection.”

Energy Minister Paul Wheelhouse said: “Renewable energy sources accounted for over 56.7% of gross electricity consumption in Scotland in 2015.

“And onshore wind is a key driver for the growth in both our renewable electricity supply and wider renewable energy sector and in the delivery of our vision for a greener Scotland and statutory climate change targets by enabling decarbonisation of electricity production.”