npower renewables is pleased to announce that a planning application for the Batsworthy Cross Wind Farm has now been submitted to North Devon District Council.

The proposal was first announced back in late 2005, and over the last year npower renewables has been busy working to realise the sites potential.

With results obtained from a wide range of site studies and feedback from in-depth public consultation the design for the site has now been set at 9 wind turbines, each with a maximum height of up to 103m.

At this size the site will have a capacity of around 18megawatts (MW), producing enough electricity to meet the average annual demand of up to 8000 homes - equal to more than a fifth of all the homes across North Devon. This even takes into account times that the wind farm will not be generating such as times of low or no wind speeds.

Batsworthy Cross Wind Farm would also make a valuable contribution towards Devon's adopted target of installing 151MW of renewable energy capacity by 2010 - of which only 25MW is installed so far.

The location of the site is within an Area of Search for Strategic Wind Farm Development, as defined by the Devon Structure and adopted by Devon County Council in 2004.

Project Manager Simon Holt said, "We decided to submit the planning application in as green a manner as possible."

"This involved a 176 mile journey from our HQ in Reading that saw us take a train to Exeter, a bus to Barnstaple and a walk from the station to North Devon District Council Offices at the Civic Centre in Barnstaple."

"We think it could be one of the most environmentally friendly planning applications ever made in North Devon."

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