June 17, 2014
England

New turbine planned close to Northumberland wind farms

By Brian Daniel | The Journal | Jun 16, 2014 | www.thejournal.co.uk

Plans have been lodged for a 100 metre high wind turbine close to the site of two major wind farms and the A1.

Redpath Energy Ltd has submitted a planning application to Northumberland County Council for the generator with a maximum tip height of 100m, on land East of South Charlton, near Alnwick, on behalf of farmer Martin Beal,

The site is a short distance from 18 turbines at Middlemoor and ten at Wandylaw, all 125m high, and is close to the A1.

The applicant last night told how the application is a diversification project for the farmer which will financially benefit local people.

However, 21 nearby residents have objected. One of those last night claimed the turbine was unacceptable given its proximity to the wind farm sites.

Ian Brown, who is working for Redpath on the scheme, said: “Martin Beal the farmer at South Charlton, was able to buy his farm a few years ago… thus he has many years ahead paying a mortgage and thus the farm needs to run in an efficient way and taking advantage of all government backed and private sector opportunities.

“Like most farmers the Beal family has considered various diversifications over several generations and… I advised Martin that there was a trusted wind developer who could potentially build a turbine on his land and bring in an income for a 25-year period.

“The planning permission is for a single 1.5MW turbine and because of practicalities will be wired into the grid, clearly there are two large wind farms in the area but Redpath Energy specialises in working with farmers and landowners in locations where we feel there is a win-win scenario for a single mid-size turbine. The community would also gain a direct financial contribution each year.

“Another interesting point is the long-term nature of land management, 25 years seems a long time but when trees are planted for 45 to 140 years commercially, so the impact on the landscape is here for now but it is clear that renewable funding will only be in place until economics of scale has been achieved and to give the UK energy security at a sensible price while also trying the reduce the carbon dioxide produced.

“Who can predict the future but the farmed land of Britain will always be multi-functional producing. ”

Yet Chris Craddock, chairman of the Middleton Burn Action Group which is fighting two turbine schemes at Belford, claimed the generator would exacerbate the damage caused to the landscape by the 28 turbines.

He said: “It will be very visible as a southern extension of the Middlemoor wind farm.”

Mr Craddock voiced fears that the farmer might seek to add more generators once given approval. He said: “One can then see the possibility of another wind turbine between Alnwick and South Charlton, before we know where we are we have got a continuous chain.”

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2014/06/17/new-turbine-planned-close-to-northumberland-wind-farms/