Force 9 energy received approval from the Scottish Government for a 28-turbine wind farm within the Carrick Forest, approximately 2 km north east of Barrhill in South Ayrshire . First Minister, Alex Salmond opened the completed project on the 13th June 2011. The wind farm, which is now owned and operated by Scottish Power Renewables and has a capacity of 56 MW. The facility occupies 580 hectares and is equipped with 28 Gamesa G87 wind turbines. With 2 MW in unit capacity, each 110-metre turbine has a blade diameter of 87 meters. Mark Hill is able to supply electricity to 32,500 households. Its construction has led to improvements to nearly 20 kilometres of local roads and Barrhill village benefits from an annual community fund which in the first 12 months has enabled a new efficient heating system to be installed in the village hall and local residents from several surrounding villages to benefit from new loft insulation.