January 14, 2014
England

Wind turbine plan for farm at Caistor

Grimsby Telegraph | January 13, 2014 | www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk

A 100-metre-high wind turbine could be installed on a farm at Caistor.

Residents are being consulted about the proposal to install the 500kw turbine at Moor Farm, in Moor Lane.

It’s a similar height to the nearby Wolds landmark Nettleton Hill, and a further turbine with a tip height of 70 metres is under consideration for a location east of the B1205 between Moortown and South Kelsey.

EDP, a York-based consultancy service which facilitates turbine installation on agricultural land, has been working closely with the owners of Moor Farm.

They are confident that land within the farm could accommodate a single turbine and intentions are to submit a planning application on behalf of the owners.

Caistor residents have been provided with information about the proposal and invited to make comments.

Kelsey Ward West Lindsey councillor Lewis Strange, who also chairs the Lincolnshire Wolds Area Of Outstanding Natural Beauty Management Group, said: “One-hundred metres, the planned height of the Caistor turbine, is the same height as Nettleton Hill or Somerby Top, both in this part of the Wolds.

“The visual impact of these turbines is everything. We need to look at these in terms of the impact they will make on the landscape as against their usefulness on the farm units.”

The information to Caistor householders states that the turbine has the twin aim of providing an additional income for the farm as a local business and employer; and also to generate renewable electricity – enough to power the equivalent of 600 homes.

Farmland, it continues, can be ideal for wind power generation because of the open space and distance from residential areas.

The income from the electricity, it claims, helps to ensure the continued viability of the farm, and the electricity supplied to the national grid helps to meet future energy needs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The Caistor Moor Farm turbine would be located to the north of North Kelsey Road and would be up to 102 metres high.

The aim is for it to be installed by winter 2014-15 and it would have an operational life of about 25 years. It would connect to the existing local distribution network without the need for new overhead cables.

Environmental studies, claims EDP, looked at a range of topics, including ecology, noise levels, and the area’s landscape. The finding of the studies through the consultants confirm the suitability of the site for a wind turbine development and informed the most appropriate location for the turbine within the site.

Councillor Strange confirmed that no planning application has yet to be submitted to the local authority, West Lindsey District Council, though a “screening request” on both turbines is with the authority.

The council will make the complete application available for public viewing should it be processed.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2014/01/14/wind-turbine-plan-for-farm-at-caistor/