August 26, 2018
England

Two wind turbines taller than the London Eye could be built on Teesside

By James Cain, Local Democracy Reporter | Teesside Live | 25 Aug 2018 | www.gazettelive.co.uk

Two wind turbines – taller than the London Eye and visible from Peterlee – could be built on Teesside.

Although at the very earliest stage, proposals have been drawn up to install two wind turbines on land at the Tesco Distribution Centre on Dabholm Road at Teesport, Middlesbrough.

Renewable energy suppliers, CleanEarth (CE), are proposing to submit a planning application to Redcar and Cleveland Council for a pair of wind turbines, each with a maximum tip height of 145m.

If built, each of the three-blade rotors would be taller than the 135m London Eye and both could potentially be seen from as far away as Peterlee.

Clean Earth said: “The Zone of Theoretical Visibility (ZTV) shows that for the worst case scenario, the turbine will be largely visible from the immediate vicinity, with most of long-range visibility extending north and north east out to sea, and towards the west towards Stockton.

“There will also be patches of visibility extending towards the east towards Peterlee in the north, and Picton in the south west.

“Overall, the worst case scenario shows that most of the theoretical visibility will be limited to the immediately industrial area, with most long-range visibility out to sea, and towards the west.”

It should be noted that Clean Earth’s “worst case scenario” does not model for visual barriers such as woodland and settlements and so actual visibility of the turbines would likely be reduced.

Clean Earth’s letter to Redcar and Cleveland Council said that, if built, the wind turbines would provide renewable power to the Tesco Distribution Centre, reducing the firm’s carbon footprint.

It says: “The natural resource of wind power will be used to supply renewable energy to the Tesco Distribution Centre and contribute to at least 70% of their present electricity consumption, allowing Tesco to enjoy carbon savings of approximately 3,394T per year.”

Clean Earth said they had also contacted Durham Tees Valley Airport and the Ministry of Defence regarding any potential impact on aviation or radar.

A Redcar and Cleveland Council spokesman confirmed that the local authority had been approached by Clean Earth indicating an intention to submit a planning application, but that no application had been submitted so far.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2018/08/26/two-wind-turbines-taller-than-the-london-eye-could-be-built-on-teesside/