Wind farm monitoring mast set for longer stay
A green energy company is set to win approval to continue testing for a potential Northumberland wind farm development for another three years.
Vattenfall Wind Power was granted permission in 2006 to erect a 70m-high monitoring mast at Ottercops Moss near the village of Kirkwhelpington.
The structure is aimed at assessing wind conditions in the area with a view to eventually erecting turbines.
Tonight county councillors will be asked to allow the firm to continue using the mast for a further three years.
Vattenfall says that, because of early problems with the monitoring equipment, it has only been able to gather two years worth of data from the mast.
It says it requires five years of wind assessment to avoid the risk of errors creeping into the data. Elsdon Parish Council has objected to the retention of the monitoring mast, claiming it damages the local landscape character and is intrusive in an area of wilderness and tranquility.
Clerk Roger Bolam said: “If enough data could not be gathered in the three years of the original permission, there is little likelihood that it can be obtained in a further three-year period.’’
A report to tonight’s county council north area planning committee says: “The local planning authority appreciates that the structure is located within a sensitive area and can be viewed from the public domain, but consideration must also be given to the temporary nature and the slender appearance of it.”
The Journal
6 August 2009
Tags: Wind power, Wind energy
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