March 17, 2008
England
England
Plans to build giant wind turbines at beauty spots in Oxford are expected to take a step forward today.
Senior councillors are being asked to give the go-ahead to a serious study into whether giant wind turbines could be built on land close to Hinksey Heights Golf Club, near South Hinksey, and Cutteslowe Park.
The sites would join land near the BMW car factory in Cowley and at Sandford Brake, south of Greater Leys, which have already been singled out as prime locations on which to build 125m (410ft) tall energy generators.
Members of the city council’s decision-making executive committee are expected to allow Partnerships for Renewables, part of the Carbon Trust, to undertake further detailed examinations.
If those tests prove successful, the Government-backed company would finance the multi-million pound scheme at no cost to the authority.
Experts said the Horspath and Sandford Brake sites could accommodate at least two turbines each, while the Chilswell Valley site near South Hinksey and Cutteslowe Park could take one each.
Each mast would be 80m high, with the rotor blade measuring 90m in diameter.
Each turbine would generate three megawatts of power.
Graham Jones, chairman of the Friends of Cutteslowe Park, said: “While being enthusiastic about sustainable energy, we have to look after the environment.
“People come to Cutteslowe Park to enjoy the greenery, so I don’t know whether a turbine would help with that.”
By Giles Sheldrick
17 March 2008
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2008/03/17/council-considers-beauty-spot-turbine-plan/