The 24 megawatt  Ardrossan Wind Farm in Ardrossan

Ardrossan

Ardrossan is a town on the North Ayrshire coast in south-western Scotland. The name "Ardrossan" describes its physical position — 'ard' from the Gaelic àird meaning headland, 'ros' a promontory and the diminutive suffix '-an' - headland of the little promontory...

, North Ayrshire

North Ayrshire

North Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas in Scotland with a population of roughly 136,000 people. It is located in the south-west region of Scotland, and borders the areas of Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire to the north-east and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the East and South...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 was officially opened on August 10, 2004. The Vestas

Vestas

Vestas Wind Systems A/S is a Danish manufacturer, seller, installer, and servicer of wind turbines. It is the largest in the world, but due to very rapid growth of its competitors, its market share decreased from 28% in 2007 to 12.5% in 2009...

 factory in Argyll

Argyll

Argyll , archaically Argyle , is a region of western Scotland corresponding with most of the part of ancient Dál Riata that was located on the island of Great Britain, and in a historical context can be used to mean the entire western coast between the Mull of Kintyre and Cape Wrath...

, which now employs more than 200 people, has supplied the wind turbine

Wind turbine

A wind turbine is a device that converts kinetic energy from the wind into mechanical energy. If the mechanical energy is used to produce electricity, the device may be called a wind generator or wind charger. If the mechanical energy is used to drive machinery, such as for grinding grain or...

s for the Airtricity

Airtricity

Airtricity was founded in 1997 in the Republic of Ireland and now is a renewable energy company owned by Scottish and Southern Energy...

 development. The company is providing access to the site for schools and other interested community groups to learn more about wind power

Wind power

Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electricity, windmills for mechanical power, windpumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships....

.

The Guardian

The Guardian

The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...

has reported that the Ardrossan Wind Farm has been "overwhelmingly accepted by local people". Instead of spoiling the landscape, locals believe it has enhanced the area: "The turbines are impressive looking, bring a calming effect to the town and, contrary to the belief that they would be noisy, we have found them to be silent workhorses".