20MW wind farm planned for Lancashire-Cumbria borders
Elaine Brass
9th November 2009
E.ON, the energy generator and distributor, plans to build a new wind farm at Kirby Lonsdale, on the county border between Lancashire and Cumbria.
If approved, the proposed 20 megawatt (MW), nine turbine wind farm could provide enough power to supply 9,000 homes annually, and displace approximately 19,000 tonnes of CO2.
E.ON has submitted a scoping statement outlining its plans for the proposed Longfield Tarn wind farm to Lancaster City Council and other interested parties. It intends to submit a full planning application in 2010.
An E.ON spokesperson said it was still early days but the location was right. "We think this is a great location for a wind farm, but it's not a done deal. We take the comments of local people seriously and where possible will incorporate them within our plans, whatever they may be," he said.
Nick Taylor, project developer at E.ON pointed out the importance of such projects for the energy security of the UK. “It’s through developments like this that we can change the way we produce energy, helping us to keep people’s lights on, while reducing our impact on the environment,” he said.
England's largest onshore wind farm, Peel Energy's 26-wind turbine farm is already up and running at Scout Moor in Lancashire.
E.ON claims to be one of the UK’s leading green generators with 20 wind farms across the country, and operates the UK’s largest biomass power station at Lockerbie. It says its renewable development portfolio could power over one million homes through building new onshore and offshore wind farms, biomass power stations, and tidal stream and wave power schemes, with 1,300 MW currently under development.
The E.ON Group aims to invest £8 billion on renewable generation and climate protection activities up to 2011.