October 13, 2006
U.K.
U.K.
Plans for a new seven-turbine windfarm near Workington have gone on show for the first time.
Your Energy wants to build the 81m-high turbines at Winscales, next to an existing windfarm, on land between the A595 and A66.
The company said the new turbines will generate electricity for about 4,000 homes.
An exhibition at the Carnegie Theatre in Workington was held on Tuesday so people could have their say and have their questions answered by company representatives.
Matt Kelly, Your Energy’s project manager, said: “This site is suitable for a number of reasons.
“Being next to an existing windfarm, which has become an accepted part of the local landscape, it has shown that it has good wind speeds and low ecological impact.
“It will help to fight climate change and raise tens of thousands of pounds for Allerdale energy efficiency initiatives. We also want to be a good neighbour.
“With profits from the sale of the windfarm’s electricity we are establishing a special fund ““ at least £130,000 in total over the 25-year lifetime of the turbines ““ that will award grants to local schemes that involve energy efficiency.
“These could range from the insulation of village halls to educational projects with local schools about renewable energy and the role it can play in helping to tackle climate change.”
He added that the company intended to work closely with households in the district to raise awareness about the benefits of renewable energy.
There were mixed reactions from people at the exhibition.
Allerdale councillor Joe Sandwith, 56, of Low Seaton, said: “We have got our fair share of windfarms in Cumbria.
“They should give them to the Home Counties and let them catch up. Cumbria is becoming a dumping ground.
“I live in Seaton and I am looking across the valley at the existing ones. They are trying to impose them on West Cumbria. I do fell walking and they are visible from every point.”
He added that it would also cost the area for tourism.
Margaret Sykes, 58, of Ellerbeck Lane, Workington, said she was undecided as she felt she was used to the existing turbines.
She said: “I can see the existing ones from the front, back and sides of my house.
“You do get used to them. It is the numbers that concern me. It would be cleaner and more attractive than pylons.
“But I have worries about noise and the magnetic field. I am from an agricultural background and can see it from the farmer’s point of view.”
A planning application for the farm will be submitted to Allerdale council by the end of the year.
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2006/10/13/new-windfarm-for-workington/