SMart Wind: Hornsea Wind Farm update

SMART WIND LTD have released an information update on their proposals to build a wind farm off the East Yorkshire Coast. The document provides an overview of progress to date on all aspects of the Project.

The document can be downloaded here as a PDF file Hornsea Project One Update - March 2011 or from SMart Wind's re-vamped website at www.smartwind.co.uk.

For further information on the community consultation see: East Yorkshire Coast 'Hornsea Zone' Wind Farms Consultation.
Hornsea Project One Update March 2011

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East Yorkshire Coast 'Hornsea Zone' Wind Farms Consultation

SMart Wind Ltd is a consortium established to deliver the Government's plans for wind generation off the East Yorkshire coast in what is being called the "Hornsea" Zone. Hornsea is one of nine zones to be developed in the seas around Great Britain which between them will aim to provide at least 25% of the UK’s electricity generating capacity.

The plan is to create wind farms in the Hornsea Zone that can produce 4-gigawatts of power by 2020. This could, according to SMart Wind, provide enough electricity to meet approximately 4% of all electricity demand in the UK and power approximately 3 million homes.

The first part of the project, what SMart Wind refers to as "Project One", is to consider the essential infrastructure including onshore cable routes required for the project. However, before this work goes ahead SMart Wind need to carry out a detailed consultation with those local communities that may be affected by the proposals.

The Project One consultation starts this month. A 'Statement of Community Consultation' has been produced and communities have been invited to attend consultation events on both sides of the River Humber.

This includes events in Aldbrough on the 24th March, Patrington on 30th March, Burton Pidsea 31st March, Keyingham 5th April, Withernsea 6th April and Hedon on the 15th April. Click the image below for full details or visit Community Consultation Events for more information.

SMart Wind Limited is a project-development consortium of Mainstream Renewable Power and Siemens Project Ventures GmbH, each partner company holds a 50% stake.  The first project is expected to be ready for construction by 2014 subject to consultation and other approvals.

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A ‘wind farm too far’ - Appeal is rejected

Beverley and Holderness MP, Graham Stuart today said he was delighted a planned wind farm in the constituency had been refused.

Energie Kontor had wanted to build three giant turbines at Monkwith, just north of Withernsea. But, after the plans were rejected by the East Riding of Yorkshire Council, the developers took the matter to appeal. And for the first time the appeal was rejected by the planning inspector. Six other wind farm planning appeals across the East Riding have already been allowed by planning inspectors.

Graham Stuart said: “This is fantastic news for the residents who have fought so hard to prevent this wind farm going ahead. This is not about being anti-wind; this is about a community which faced being surrounded by wind farms on all sides saying ‘enough is enough’. I met and worked with the campaigners opposed to this development and submitted evidence to the planning inquiry and so I am overjoyed at this decision – it shows the developers cannot simply ride roughshod over communities.”

The MP added: “If we are going to continue to pursue wind as a source of renewable energy I believe we should push for more off-shore wind farms to be built. “It is for that reason I fully support Green Port Hull which aims to attract off-shore turbine manufacturers to the area. That would be good for local jobs, for the local economy and for the expansion of our wind energy generation capability.”

Also see:

MP states views on Hilston Wind Farm application

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MP states views on Hilston Wind Farm application

THE SMALL HAMLET of Hilston in Holderness is the proposed location of a Wind Farm to be constructed by European wind-energy developers EnergieKontor (UK) Ltd. The East Riding Council refused the planning application, but EnergieKontor have appealed to the Government. The same company is also behind an application to build a Wind Farm at Withernwick, which was successful after a similar appeal to the Government (see Withernwick Village Website).

Graham Stuart MP has published a letter (reproduced on Google Docs) to the Hilston Planning Inquiry and set out his views. The MP expresses his concern for the people who live in Holderness who appear to have no control over the environment in which they live. Whilst he states that he is not anti-wind farm and he believes that local people are more than willing to do their bit for the national interest, he derides the fact that companies resort to legal action to win their case.

"...it is so wrong that companies are barely consulting locally but spending fortunes on lawyers to drive through decisions on appeal. The key principle is that local people, not some government inspector, should decide what happens in their area." He continued "...I am against the apparent race by some developers to cash in on the large subsidies available for wind power generation to the detriment of those who are forced to live with the consequences. This rush needs to be kept in check and a balance struck."

The Planning Inquiry is continuing.

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