A planning application has been submitted for a wind farm near Kiln Pit Hill following public consultation with the local community and a wide range of technical and environmental experts.
The proposed six turbines at Kiln Pit Hill would generate enough electricity to meet the average annual electricity needs of some 6,200 homes1, and could offset the annual release of around 25,000 tonnes2 of carbon dioxide, one of the main greenhouse gases, every year.
Joanna Thompson, npower renewables3 developer for the Kiln Pit Hill site said, "The scheme near Kiln Pit Hill is within an area outlined in the emerging regional spatial strategy, as an area that is particularly suitable for wind farm development. The area is also identified in the adopted Northumberland County Structure Plan as an area of least constraint for wind farm development. If Northumberland is to meet it's renewable energy targets it is important that well designed, well planned schemes like this are given the go ahead.
"There is an expanding Energy Gap in the UK and it is projects like this which can help fill the void left by the decommissioning of nuclear power stations, and ensure the security of our electricity supply in the future."
She added, "The application submitted today for the proposed wind farm at Kiln Pit Hill is the culmination of three years of hard work. We feel the Environmental Statement tackles all of the issues raised during the consultation period. It is now up to the local councillors on the planning commitee at Tynedale District Council to make a decision that satisfies the local community, whilst taking into account the need for alternative electricity to help tackle climate change which, left unchecked, could have a negative impact on our environment indefinitely."
A copy of the Environmental Statement, and the Non-Technical Summary will be made available for public consultation at Tynedale District Council offices and Hexham Library once the application has been registered.
Tynedale District Council
Offices
Old Grammar School
Hallgate
Hexham
Northumberland
NE46 1XA
Tel: 01434 652200
|
Hexham Library
Queen's Hall Arts Centre
Beaumont Street
Hexham
Northumberland
NE46 3LS
Tel: 01434 652488
|
Editors Notes
- 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 12 MW. The energy capture, capacity factor and equivalent homes figure relating to this project may change as site specific information is gathered.
- 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. In estimating the potential annual offset of harmful emissions it is recognised that over the life of the Kiln Pit Hill project these values may change due to, for example, variation in the generating plant mix over the 25 year life span of the wind farm.
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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.
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