Kimberly-Clark, the company behind popular brands like Andrex and Huggies, has inaugurated its new onshore wind farm in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. This wind farm, built at a cost of £75 million in just 18 months, is expected to supply approximately 80% of Kimberly-Clark's electrical power needs in the UK.

The 50MW Cumberhead wind farm consists of 12 turbines and represents Kimberly-Clark's first wind farm project outside of North America. The company has entered into a Power Purchase Agreement for the energy generated with Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust (ORIT), a subsidiary of Octopus Energy Generation, which owns the wind asset. The wind farm is projected to produce around 160,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of renewable energy annually, resulting in an annual reduction of 55,625 metric tons of CO2 equivalent emissions, equivalent to taking 38,628 passenger vehicles off the road each year.

In addition to its environmental benefits, the wind farm is expected to contribute to the local community through a Community Benefit Fund, with over £200,000 distributed among South Lanarkshire Council Renewable Energy Fund, Coalburn Community Council, and Lesmahagow Community Council in the wind farm's first year of operation. This amount will increase annually in line with the Retail Price Index for the next three decades.

Kimberly-Clark is committed to transitioning to 100% renewable energy in the UK and Ireland by 2030 and is actively exploring other renewable energy solutions, including on-site solar power and green hydrogen projects in collaboration with Octopus Energy Generation's green hydrogen venture and Carlton Power. By 2026, the company aims to reduce its UK and Ireland operational emissions by up to 85% compared to its 2015 baseline, aligning with its sustainability goals for 2030.

Dan Howell, Vice President and Managing Director at Kimberly-Clark UK and Ireland, emphasized the importance of energy transformation for the company and stated that the new wind farm is a significant step toward achieving their renewable energy objectives. David Bird, Investment Director for ORIT, praised Kimberly-Clark's commitment to decarbonizing its business and called for more businesses to follow suit to accelerate the transition to net-zero emissions.