June 27, 2012
England

Scaled-back wind farm plans for Devon/Cornwall border to go on display

Western Morning News | www.thisiscornwall.co.uk 27 June 2012

Plans for a massive new wind farm in countryside on the Devon and Cornwall border have been scaled back slightly and residents will soon be able to see how they will affect the landscape.

EDF Energy Renewables had planned an array of seven wind turbines to be built near Chapmans Well, east of the A388, between Launceston and Holsworthy.

Now the company says it is reducing the number by one – to a maximum of six – on land at Hollow Panson.

The project will now supply the annual domestic electricity needs of 6,200 homes not the 7,300 originally proposed.

However, the size of the two-megawatt (MW) turbines remains unchanged, with a hub height of 80 metres (262ft) and total height including the turbines of 126.5 metres (415ft).

EDF calculates the production of up to 12MW of clean energy will save approximately 12,650 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually.

The company has announced two exhibitions: at St Giles on the Heath Coronation Hall on Monday, July 9, between 2pm and 8pm, and at Ashwater Parish Hall the following day, from 11am until 7pm.

The events will provide interested parties with further information, including turbine layouts, photomontages and 3D visual simulations to show how the farm will look from various locations.

Tim Wheeler, development manager of onshore wind at EDF Energy Renewables‚ said: “We would like to encourage anyone who has a question or is interested in the project to come along to discuss the plans with us.

“Local opinion is very important to us and we are holding these information sessions during the day and into the early evenings so that anyone who wants to come and talk to us has an opportunity to do so.”

The project team will be on hand to answer questions and visitor feedback will be reviewed before any planning application is submitted to Torridge District Council.

Mike Bruton, chairman of the Campaign to Protect Rural England in Cornwall and a member of anti-wind turbine group Cornwall Protect, said the cumulative impact on the Torridge area of a string of schemes would be an “appalling blight” on the countryside.

He said 400 applications were in the pipeline and predicted new pylons would soon be needed to deal with the extra power transmission.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/06/27/scaled-back-wind-farm-plans-for-devoncornwall-border-to-go-on-display/