Current Progress
Enertrag UK have submitted a scoping request to Broadland District Council for an Environmental Impact Assessment to construct a wind farm at Guestwick, Norfolk.
Scoping Request
Enertrag UK have sent Broadland District Council a request for a 'Scoping Opinion' which will detail the requirements of a subsequent Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).
The scoping opinion is the first stage in the planning process to indicate what issues should be addressed in more detail. A thorough Environmental Impact Assessment will be carried out and is anticipated to take approximately 1 year, commencing after receipt of the Scoping Opinion provided by Broadland District Council. Enertrag UK will look to submit a planning application and Environmental Statement (ES) after the completion of the EIA. There will be opportunity for public consultation during this process.
The Site
The proposed site is on land to the West of the village of Guestwick, Norfolk, and will comprise of three turbines, each with a maximum output of 3MW. The proposed site location and provisional layout is shown below. The exact turbine locations can not be confirmed until all the reports that form part of the Environmental Impact Assessment have been considered.
The Turbines
The specific model will not be finalised until after planning permission is granted. The reason for this is that the technologies are constantly moving forward and at the time of placing the contract for the turbines Enertrag would want to take advantage of the turbine that best suits the site.
However each turbine will be a maximum height to the hub of 84m with maximum rotor diameter of 112m. The diameter of the tower at the base will be approximately 4m.
When siting the turbines Enertrag UK Ltd will consider that:
- The turbines will produce electricity to be fed back into the national grid via underground cables.
- The turbines have to be sited a set distance from each other as recommended by the manufacturer to enable each turbine to generate the maximum amount of electricity.
- Vehicle access routes will be provided between the turbines for construction and maintenance; these will follow the existing tracks and field boundaries where possible.
- The final arrangement for the foundations will only be confirmed once the turbine manufacturer is determined.
- The land around the turbine will be flat as the foundations will be buried. Once construction is complete, the land can continue to be farmed right up to the turbine tower.
Energy Production and Carbon Savings
Indicative Displacement Calculations for a three turbine wind farm.
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Installed capacity per turbine
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Total annual output for wind farm (GWh)
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Equivalent number of households (consumption)
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CO2 Savings (tonnes per year)
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3MW
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23.65
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5032
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10,170
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30% load factor.
CO2 emission saving of 430g/kWh
Average annual household electricity consumption of 4.7MWh
Planning Process
Enertrag UK are required to produce an Environmental Statement (ES). The process of producing this is known as an Environmental Impact Assessment and will consider the potential effects and impacts of the development on the following areas including; ornithology, ecology, archaeology, noise, geology and hydrology, landscape, cultural heritage, traffic and access, shadow flicker and electromagnetic interference. Enertrag UK will work very closely with experts in these fields in order to produce the ES. Once the ES is complete, Enertrag UK will submit a planning application to the local authority.
As part of the planning process, Enertrag UK will provide opportunity for the public to demonstrate their views and get involved with the public consultation. A consultation document will be available during this time. If you have any comments or queries please use the comments form available on this website.
Enertrag UK will also hold public consultation sessions in the area to give members of the community a chance to meet the team and have their questions answered. Dates of these sessions will be published in due course.
A copy of the scoping request can be accessed from ‘downloads’ at the top of this page.
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