July 15, 2008
England

Extra wind farms revealed as plans speed up

More wind farm developments are in the pipeline for the East Riding as pressure builds to meet ambitious renewable energy targets.

Although two massive offshore farms with as many as 160 turbines could be built just five miles off the East Coast they don’t count towards the East Riding’s wind energy target – the highest in Yorkshire.

Wind company Aeolian Holderness Ltd has applied to build three turbines, providing 3MW of electricity each, and up to 135m (443ft) high to the tip of each blade, south of Burton Pidsea.

A proposal by E.ON UK, for a three-turbine wind farm at Tedder Hill, Roos, is due to be heard by councillors at the end of August. EnergieKontor UK has resubmitted its application for nine turbines at Withernwick and according to planners may resurrect proposals for a wind farm at Monkwith, close to Tunstall and Roos, although smaller than the seven-turbine scheme rejected last year.

A major issue continues to be interference with radar at Staxton Wold after trials three years ago concluded that wind turbines can affect the detection of aircraft flying over them or nearby.

The Ministry of Defence maintained its objection at a planning inquiry over a wind farm at Routh, near Beverley. There are also aviation issues with the two offshore windfarms.

However Cherie Blenkin, chairman of campaign group SHOWT, said: “We’ve heard other wind companies are scouting the area. Withernwick has been resubmitted. It’s all we said it would be and more – it’s the industrialisation of the East Riding and it is wrong.”

Vice-chaiman of Roos parish council Jackie Cracknell, who campaigned against the Monkwith application, said: “If it comes back we will still object. If the offshore wind farm is built it will just compound what’s going on onshore in terms of cumulative effect for this part of Holderness.”

Having approved two large wind farms at Lissett (24MW to 36MW) and Twin Rivers (28MW), East Riding Council will easily exceed its 2010 target of 41MW.

However targets for the region look set to be far higher in future as Britain tries to meet its 2020 EU target of generating 15 per cent of all its energy from renewables with as much as 40 per cent of electricity having to come from green sources, mostly wind.

The wind industry is calling for swift action to unblock the planning regime and also upgrade the ageing national grid network to allow for speedy connection of new farms.

Head of aviation at the British Wind Energy Association Nicola Vaughan said she was sure a technical solution to the radar problem would be found.

A spokesman for East Riding Council said each application was judged on its merits.

By Alexandra Wood

Yorkshire Post

15 July 2008


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