Wind Energy Planning

A recent wind turbine proposal for the city of Oxford has sparked up the debate about where it is appropriate to locate wind turbines.

The proposal between Cowley works and Horsepath was announced last week by Oxford City Council and renewable energy developer Partnership for Renewables.

Oxford City Council say the site is capable of hosting a single commercial wind turbine. Local Councillor John Tanner said: “Wind turbines are a beautiful way of helping to tackle climate change with renewable energy. This Horspath site is a first for Oxford and a practical contribution to creating a low carbon city.

“The City Council owns the land, Partnerships for Renewables will pay for the development costs and we will receive an annual payment for the benefit of taxpayers and the community. At this stage we want to put up a test mast to see if the wind power is really there as we believe it is.

“Wind turbines are quiet, graceful and not a threat to wildlife. Compared to ugly electricity pylons wind turbines are a huge improvement for Oxford’s environment. The real threat to our countryside locally is not wind turbines but climate change.

“I hope everyone will support this wind turbine plan as a practical way of helping to save our plant. Both the City Council and Partnerships for Renewables are committed to ensuring that the local community is central to the development process.”

Wind turbines in urban areas bring about different issues to those in remote areas. Challenges can include lower wind speeds, ice throw from blades in winter and shadow flicker. The benefits include turbines being much closer to electricity demand centres, however with this comes debate as can be seen on any of the local media web-pages where locals are arguing the pros and cons of wind energy.

Partnerships for Renewables Tom Brinicombe said the Horspath site had been chosen because it was a good distance from nearby houses, with no environmentally designated land nearby.

The single wind turbine project would be built on Oxford City Council owned land adjacent to the Horspath Road Athletics Track. The Council is following in the footsteps of Bristol City Council who have approved a wind turbine on their land near Avonmouth docks.

The wind turbine needs to have a tower height of around 130m to allow it to reach its maximum electricity generation potential. This is a few metres taller than the wind turbine next to the M4, outside Reading. The Oxford 2.5 Megawatt (MW) turbine is expected to produce enough electricity for the equivalent of 1,200 households per annum. Environmental assessment work is to start soon, however a planning application is not expected to be submitted until 2011.

Anti-wind farm protesters sometimes say that wind energy proposals split communities. However we need to face up to our energy challenges and as one blogger stated on Planning Blog yesterday “Its time to face up to the facts that chickens aren’t born in shrink wrapped packages and electricity doesnt come from magic fairies”.