Windfarm firm looks at new site
Wind energy specialist Enertrag is testing opinion on plans for a second windfarm in south Norfolk.
The Diss-based company, which is already being opposed over proposals for seven wind turbines at Hempnall, now has plans for six more at Tivetshall St Mary.
And Michael Windridge, who is leading the campaign against the Hempnall turbines, has accused Enertrag of declaring “a full-scale war on the Norfolk landscape”.
The Enertrag proposals for Tivetshall are revealed in what is called a “scoping request” to South Norfolk Council. This sets out what the company intends and asks the council what issues it needs to address to support any application it submits.
The request shows that Enertrag plans six 125m turbines on farmland at New Road.
The company says that the nearest houses are 700m away and that it has an agreement to buy the land if planning permission is granted. Construction is expected to take five to six months.
Mr Windridge, who is a South Norfolk councillor, said: “I hope Enertrag’s latest move will provoke a genuine debate among Norfolk people about the real value which we attach to our rural landscape, and whether we care about protecting it.”
He said that Enertrag was trying again to dump large scale industrial structures in the countryside and undermining the case for renewable energy because wind turbines were inefficient and produced only a “derisory” amount of electricity.
However, David Linley, the manager of projects for Enertrag, said that its windfarm at Pickenham, near Swaffham, produced electricity for 9,000 homes, which was not derisory.
Although wind turbines were still a relatively rare sight in the countryside, they were not industrial in the way that chimneys or factories were, they were quiet and they were not polluting, he said.
“If we are going to meet green targets, we have to accept change,” added Mr Linley.
By Martn Throssell
22 February 2008
Tags: Wind power, Wind energy
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