July 18, 2011
England

BT ‘still committed’ to Clare wind farm

Haverhill Echo, www.haverhillecho.co.uk 18 July 2011

Suspicions that BT may have pulled the plug on its plans for a three-turbine wind farm on the edge of Clare have been quashed by the telecommunications company.

The suggestion that the 300 feet high turbines proposed for land at Leys Farm, just outside Clare and overlooking Chilton Street, was first mooted by Clare Against the Turbines (CATT), an action group fighting the plans.

On its website, the group says pressure has been put on BT to get environmental studies carried out, including investigations into any noise caused by the wind farm, because of public pressure.

In addition, BT had also cancelled its public meeting planned for last month.

The website said: “It’s too early to break out the champagne, but there are many reasons why BT might have pulled the rug on this one.

“The reasons for saying this are all small, but added up they amount to something that may well be enough to cause BT to have reconsidered.”

However, BT’s head of partnership development, Tom Martin, said: “BT remains committed to exploring options for a three-turbine wind development at Leys Farm.

“We are continuing to work with our team of experts to ensure we come up with the best possible design for the site.

“Also, the wind resource over the last winter has been less than usual (as reported by the UK’s Met Office) which has not allowed us to correlate with long term Met Office stations to the accuracy we require.

“We therefore are also undertaking a few more months’ wind monitoring at the site before we submit a planning application.”

BT has been collecting data from its 60-metre high meteorological mast since September.

BT’s proposal is part of the company’s Wind for Change initiative to develop 20 wind farms across the country with the aim of generating 25 per cent of its current UK electricity needs.

It is one of the UK’s biggest corporate renewable energy projects, which includes onshore wind power and other green energy resources.

For all the latest news see Thursday’s (July 21) Echo.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/07/18/bt-still-committed-to-clare-wind-farm/