The Scottish Government has approved plans to build a 22-turbine wind farm in West Lothian.

Located near West Calder, the Harburnhead wind farm is capable of generating 66MW of electricity, which is enough to meet the power demands of 31,000 homes.

During the construction phase the wind farm is expected to create around 80 jobs.

Once operational, the development will generate approximately £9m for the local economy.

Enel Viento will build the wind power project and has collaborated with West Calder and Harburn Community Development Trust to provide a community fund to support local projects throughout the operational life of the wind farm.

Meanwhile, the government has rejected a similar wind farm proposal that is also near West Calder.

The 21-turbine Fauch Hill wind farm was rejected on the bases of unacceptable adverse visual and landscape impacts.

Energy minister Fergus Ewing said the Harburnhead wind farm will create jobs both in its construction and during its lifetime, and will be able to produce enough electricity to power the equivalent of 31,000 homes in West Lothian. The community fund that has been offered by the developer will bring considerable benefits to the local community.

“Scotland is already providing over a third of the UK’s renewable electricity generation and helping to keep the lights on across our islands at a time where there is an increasingly tight gap between electricity supply and demand,” Ewing said.

“We want to see the right developments in the right places, and that is why I have refused permission for the proposed wind farm at Fauch Hill, which I consider would have brought unacceptable impacts on the landscape, particularly the Pentland hills.”