An area of farmland between the villages of Bozeat and Lavendon is being assessed for its suitability for a wind farm. The land around Nun Wood could be used to generate 'green' electricity, as part of the government's 10% renewable energy target by 2010.
npower renewables are at an early stage of their investigations, although an in-depth evaluation of the potential site is underway.
npower renewables Development Manager for the East of England Vicky Portwain said: "This is a fantastic opportunity for Milton Keynes, Wellingborough and Bedford to start making a meaningful contribution towards renewable energy generation. At the moment we are investigating whether the site is suitable for a medium sized wind farm of approximately 16 turbines, potentially generating enough clean electricity, to meet the average needs of up to 16,3001 homes"
"As we know, global warming is one, of the biggest threats we face, and a Wind Farm in this location could potentially offset the release of 65,8002 tonnes of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere.
She continued "At the moment we are undertaking various technical and environmental studies. Our key focus is ensuring that the site can be designed so as to make the wind farm as efficient as possible, whilst the minimising the impact on the local environment and those living in the surrounding area. As a company we have considerable experience in designing wind farms and we will be using the advice of professional, independent experts, as well as consulting with the relevant local and national groups. We will, of course, continue to keep everyone informed but if anyone living locally has any immediate comments or questions they shouldn't hesitate to get in touch".
Over the coming months, npower renewables will be consulting with local representatives and residents, along with local and national consultees as their studies continue. They will hold public exhibitions in the local area when preliminary studies have been carried out.
Anyone with comments or suggestions about this proposal can e-mail npower renewables at: nun.wood@npower-renewables.com or write to
Npower Renewables Ltd.
FREEPOST SCE9163
Reading
Notes:
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This figure was calculated using the following:
An average home utilises 4700 kWh per year (Ref: The Digest of UK Energy Statistics 2005 gives 2004 domestic electricity consumption as 117.589 terawatt-hours (TWh) which, when taken with the 25.2 million households (based on Welsh homes = 1.213 million, England = 21.109 million, Scotland = 2.217 million, Northern Ireland = 652,000) gives an average electricity usage of 4,666 kWh per year per household.
The energy predicted to be generated by the proposal has been calculated using an assumed capacity factor of 27.3%, and is based on an installed capacity of 32 MW. The energy capture, capacity factor and equivalent homes figure relating to this project may change as site specific information is gathered.
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National Grid Transco's Seven Year Statement 2004 supported the theory that an appropriate carbon dioxide emissions factor for electricity generated by wind power is in the region of 860g CO2 / kWh
Press Release
