Wind Farms: A Great Option For Many Farmers, But Not All
West Coast Energy urges interested parties to work with experienced developers
Following recent claims* predicting every farm will have a wind turbine within five years, and following the announcement of the Feed In Tariff, West Coast Energy calls for farmers interested in wind energy as a diversification option to seek an experienced development partner. The leading independent wind energy developer urges caution against common oversights that can compromise the success of a proposed wind development.
West Coast Energy is keen to hear from farmers interested in exploring the possibility of a wind development on their land: indeed it even offers a free site assessment service. However, the developer urges the need for a realistic, sensitive and pragmatic approach to the proliferation of wind development on farmland. Each individual site requires an expert evaluation, and a proportion will simply not be suitable to progress development.
The new Feed In Tariff means households and communities who install renewable energy technology will, from April, be entitled to claim payments for the low carbon electricity they produce and will also be paid for any electricity they feed into the grid.
Richard Fearnall, Development Manager, West Coast Energy explains: “Of course I support predictions for the growth of farmland wind development projects, but I would caution that each farm site needs to be expertly assessed to understand its particular technical, environmental and planning constraints together with the commercial aspirations of the landowner. I’d say that if we saw even 50 per cent of UK farms carrying some kind of wind development in five years, it would represent a major advance.
“While the new Feed In Tariff arrangements will simplify wind developments on farmland, there are many other considerations which need to be handled by the experts: turbine positioning, grid connection costs, wind speed monitoring, planning and environmental impact assessment requirements, turbine procurement and installation and financial considerations. My advice would be to engage with a realistic and experienced developer with the in-house skills to handle these issues and take the strain away from the farmer.”
West Coast Energy Limited is based in Mold, North Wales. Established in 1996, it operates throughout the UK, specialising in the identification, design, planning and development of wind energy projects through to construction and operation. To date, West Coast Energy has secured planning permission for a range of onshore and offshore wind farms totalling in excess of 500MW.
Interested parties should contact Richard Fearnall at West Coast Energy for a free, no obligation, site assessment: richard.fearnall@westcoastenergy.co.uk
*
Mark Newton from Fisher German, in a Farming Futures publication.About West Coast Energy:
West Coast Energy Limited is a leading independent wind energy developer based in Mold, North Wales. The company was established in 1996 and operates throughout the UK. Its team of experienced professionals specialise in the identification, design, planning and development of wind energy projects through to construction and operation.West Coast Energy is presently involved in developing hundreds of megawatts of wind power generation for the UK’s future renewable energy needs, and to date, has secured planning permission for a range of onshore and offshore wind farms totalling in excess of 500 Megawatts.