npower renewables1 is currently investigating the possibility of a medium-scale wind farm at Toft Hill, near the village of Grindon, approximately 10 kilometres to the south west of Berwick-upon-Tweed.
npower renewables is a leading UK renewable energy generator, with over 13 years' experience in the development and operation of wind farms. With this experience, npower renewables understands the need to fully engage with the communities local to its wind energy projects.
npower renewables is keen to ensure that a full and transparent public consultation takes place, and following discussions with homes nearest to the proposed wind farm will be extending the local consultation to a wider audience. The company will shortly be distributing information leaflets to some 3,300 homes in the vicinity of the proposed site. This mailshot will be followed by a weekend of public exhibitions at Norham Village Hall on Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th April 2005 from 10.00am to 4.00pm both days. A mobile exhibition will be in operation in the area from Monday 11th - Thursday 14th April.
Nigel Moore, project manager for the Toft Hill Wind Farm proposal said, "Local consultation is a very important part of the development of any new project and is very much a two-way process. It allows us to present our proposals to local people and provides residents living close to the site with opportunities to discuss the proposals with us and supply us with feedback which will contribute towards the final design of the wind farm."
Details of the project have not been finalised, however, it is anticipated that the scheme could comprise up to 12 wind turbines with a combined maximum output of around 24 megawatts. At this size the wind farm would generate enough clean electricity each year to supply the average needs of some 13,000 homes (averaged out across the year and taking into account times of low wind speed). This clean generation would, in addition, prevent the annual release of around 48,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas contributing to global warming and climate change.
The local consultation is taking place in parallel with a wide range of detailed environmental studies on and around the proposed site to assess any possible impacts the project may have on the local environment.
Nigel Moore said, "We are very keen that local people take up the opportunity to visit one of the public exhibitions taking place in April, and discuss the project with npower renewables staff. The information presented at the exhibitions will provide details of the wind farm proposal as it stands to date, including information about the environmental studies that are being undertaken and computer-generated images to show how the wind farm could look from local viewpoints."
The area in which the proposed Toft Hill Wind Farm site lies has been identified within the emerging Regional Spatial Strategy of the North East Assembly as appropriate for a medium-sized wind farm. Northumberland County Council have endorsed the area as having the potential for medium-scale wind development in their recently adopted Structure Plan (February 2005).
The Toft Hill project would make an important contribution towards meeting the Assembly's emerging renewable energy target for the North East region. With an installed electrical capacity of 24 megawatts, the Toft Hill Wind Farm could provide some 6% of the region's 2010 installed renewable energy target.
The Toft Hill project is one of three wind farm proposals in Northumberland2 announced by npower renewables this February during a Regional Launch event held at the New and Renewable Energy Centre in Blyth.
For further information contact:
- Nigel Moore, Project Manager
npower renewables
Tel: 01833 69 59 80
- Sara Alan-Smith, PR Officer
npower renewables
Tel: 01189 59 24 40
Editors Notes
- 1. npower renewables is a specialist subsidiary of one of the UK's leading integrated energy companies, RWE npower, and is a leading renewable energy developer and operator. The company is dedicated to generating electricity using sustainable environmentally-friendly resources, and is currently developing the natural power of wind, hydro and co-firing biomass as significant sources of power for the UK's present and future electricity needs.
In November 2003, npower renewables' sister company, electricity retailer "npower", and Greenpeace, announced the establishment of the npower Juice fund, in association with the company's green electricity product npower Juice. This fund is helping to support the development of "new" renewable energy technologies such as wave and tidal.
-
The three sites announced are:
- Toft Hill, near the village of Grindon, approximately 10 kilometres to the south west of Berwick-upon-Tweed.
- Middlemoor, North Charlton, on pasture land to the west of the A1 approximately 12 kilometres to the north of Alnwick.
- Kiln Pit Hill, on land to the east of the A68, approximately 1 kilometre south-east of Kiln Pit Hill.
Press Release
