Generation game

Planning consultancy Turley, acting on behalf of Scout Moor Wind Farm Expansion Limited, has submitted an application for planning permission for the erection of 16 wind turbines and associated infrastructure on land adjacent to the existing Scout Moor Wind Farm in Lancashire.

The additional turbines will, together with those existing, have a total installed generating capacity of 104MW and will generate enough electricity to meet the needs of 20,000 homes each year.

Alongside the wind farm infrastructure the application also proposes the restoration of around 900 hectares of badly degraded peat moorland. The restoration plan is a key part of a comprehensive benefits package submitted as part of the application and will see significantly enhanced levels of vegetation cover and biodiversity. The functionality of the peat will also be restored meaning that it shall, once again, begin to sequester carbon dioxide.

Other benefits include a Community Benefit Fund to the value of up to £5 million over the lifetime of the development and the establishment of a Community Co-operative, which will allow members of the local community to own shares in the project.

Mark Worcester, a director at Turley who led the planning team, said: “The proposals have been the subject to extensive pre-application consultation with the local community and other stakeholders and have been revised considerably in response to the feedback received. The final scheme is sensitively designed and will deliver a number of significant benefits both environmentally and the local community.”

Issue 121 June 2015