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The 24 megawatt (MW) Ardrossan Wind Farm in Ardrossan, North Ayrshire, Scotland was officially opened on August 10, 2004. The Vestas factory in Argyll, which now employs more than 200 people, has supplied the wind turbines for the Airtricity development. The company is providing access to the site for schools and other interested community groups to learn more about wind power.
The Guardian 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".
In the Hurricane Bawbag storms of December 2011, one of the turbines of the wind farm catastrophically failed in a ball of fire, widely reported by local media.