Wind farms move into town as rural protests grow

Monday, Mar 15, 2010

BRITAIN’S wind farmers are moving into the city. As the rural backlash against giant turbines gathers pace, they are targeting brownfield sites for a new generation of wind parks which could threaten the peace of urban dwellers.

Planners have already granted permission for about 60 turbines in and around towns, while another 50, including a 650ft structure in Northumberland, are awaiting approval.

These are in addition to the 40 already operating on urban sites, according to figures from RenewableUK, which represents the wind farm industry.

The trend is likely to help break the deadlock that has left dozens of proposed rural wind farms in limbo as developers wait years for planning permission over concerns about blighting the countryside.

However, some fear it could spark challenges from city residents faced with problems of noise and “flicker” generated by sunlight shining through or reflecting off the spinning blades.

“So far brownfield sites and urban areas are less controversial for small wind farm developments,” said Dale Vince, founder of Ecotricity, the green energy firm that is leading the development of such sites.

Vince has just won planning permission to build a 260ft turbine to power the adjacent Queen Elizabeth hospital in King’s Lynn, Norfolk. Ecotricity already operates turbines in other urban areas, including Worksop and Dundee. One of the most prominent turbines, at Green Park in Reading, stands near Junction 11 of the M4 where it helps power an office development.

Airvolution Energy, a company backed by ESB, the Irish utility company, is looking for 60 brownfield sites around Britain to build new turbines.

Richard Nourse, managing partner of ESB Novus Modus, ESB’s investment fund, said: “We are not interested in trying to build big wind farms that will take ages to win planning permission. We want to put windmills on brownfield sites near to where the energy is needed.

“It means the impact on the landscape is reduced because there are already other structures in place so people are more willing to accept them.”

There is already some evidence for this. In east London, one council wants to build a turbine on Hackney Marshes to match another already being built nearby to generate power for the 2012 Olympics. The turbines would supply enough green electricity to power Hackney’s main council buildings and nearly all its street lighting. The council was concerned that residents might object, but 87% of respondents to a consultation favoured the plan.

In the northeast, at Blyth in Northumberland, there are plans by a Californian energy company to site a 650ft turbine close to the town with another in shallow waters offshore. The machines would be among the world’s largest.

The driving force behind the rush to build urban wind farms is a lucrative subsidy scheme set up by the government: each unit of green energy generated attracts a “renewable obligation certificate”.

These can approximately double the value of the power generated and can be claimed for 20 years after a turbine starts operating. Along with other green tariffs, such schemes are estimated to add about £60 a year to average energy bills.

Source: Times Online