January 10, 2013
England

Oakgrove suffers wind farm blow

Milton Keynes Citizen | 10 January 2013 | www.miltonkeynes.co.uk

A school which prides itself on being one of the most environmentally friendly in the city cannot use its wind turbines because of a health and safety recall.

Oakgrove School in Middleton makes use of solar panels and geothermal heating to reduce its carbon footprint.

But the three wind turbines installed in the school grounds have not been spinning because of a product recall issued by the Health and Safety Executive.

The school immediately stopped using the turbines but since then has heard that the company which manufacturers them has since gone into receivership.

Peter Barnes, headteacher at Oakgrove, said the school was working alongside the council to come to a speedy resolution and to get the turbines spinning once again.

He said: “The wind turbines were the subject of a nationwide recall, and we were advised by the Health and Safety Executive to turn them off, and keep them switched off. “Unfortunately the manufacturer of the turbines has since gone into receivership, which makes the resolution of this matter more complex.

“Obviously Oakgrove has very high eco-standards/credentials so this is not an ideal situation.

“But we are in close discussions with the Infrastructure team at the Milton Keynes Council, who in turn are liaising with the lead and sub–contractors on our behalf in order to reach a workable solution.”

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2013/01/10/oakgrove-suffers-wind-farm-blow/