Wind assisted farming
The first commercial wind turbine in South Warwickshire has started turning on farmland in Snitterfield.
The small scale 10kw wind turbine has been put up on land owned by Warwickshire County Council at Oldhouse Farm. The turbine is now being used to generate electricity to power the farm.
The wind turbine project has taken over two years to come to fruition. It is mounted on a 12 metre high tower and connected to the national grid. The height and position of the tower has been chosen to ensure that it is best suited to capturing wind energy while keeping any environmental impact to a minimum.
The turbine at Oldhouse Farm is a pilot project for the county council’s farms that will assess the benefits of generating power from a renewable resource on a smallholding estate.
Cllr Alan Cockburn, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for Environment and Economy, said: “Wind turbines offer sustainable power and a clean alternative to traditional fossil fuels. The wind is a huge resource which can easily be converted to electricity and we are excited about seeing the results of the pilot project at Oldhouse Farm.
“Over the next 20 years this innovation will play its part in contributing to regional and national targets for renewable energy generation.”
A typical wind turbine has a service life of 20 years. It is estimated that a wind turbine of this scale will generate an average of 18,000 Kilo Watt-hours of electricity each year, the equivalent to saving 8.1 tonnes of carbon dioxide. The projected saving in carbon emissions over the 20 year life of the project will be 162 tonnes.
-Ends
Editors notes:
The county council’s smallholding estate now covers some 2,000 hectares. Twenty farms are in Stratford district, 13 in Rugby, six in North Warwickshire, five in Warwick and two in Nuneaton and Bedworth.
The county farms and smallholdings estate provides opportunities for careers in agriculture and rural enterprise. The estate can also contribute to ‘community growing’ by the provision of new allotments, horticultural strips and opportunities for community farms.
For media enquiries contact Christopher Cresswell in the press office on 01926 418606.