An independent renewable energy firm behind four onshore wind farms in Yorkshire is applying to expand their lifespan to 40 years.
As has been common practice, 25-year consents were achieved for Hook Moor Wind Farm to the east of Leeds, the Penny Hill scheme near Sheffield, the Marr Wind Farm to the west of Doncaster and the Hazlehead Wind Farm near Barnsley. They have all been generating for between seven and 11 years.
Now, having carried out comprehensive regular maintenance work on the turbines and reviewed their operational performance, Banke Renewables, the family firm behind them, is seeking permission to add a further 15 years. Applications have been submitted to the relevant local authorities, with a view to them being considered in the coming months.
Read more: Onshore wind pledge from Sir Keir Starmer as offshore needs heard at Grimsby operations epicentre
No aspects would change, with no new turbines planned for the portfolio, which has generated enough electricity to power a town like Pontefract in the past year.
Lewis Stokes, senior community relations manager at North East-based Banks Group, said: “Our Yorkshire wind farms have all been operating efficiently for many years, and our aim is to maximise the significant environmental, energy security and community benefits they can deliver, a process which extending their respective permitted lifespans would allow us to do.
“Many communities across the county have benefited from revenues generated by each wind farm and extending their lifespans would mean even more capital would be available to support projects across surrounding areas.
“Generating as much of the energy that we all use via renewables is a crucial part of the UK’s journey towards its Net Zero targets and will enable the country to decarbonise its power supply and achieve its climate change targets more quickly than would otherwise be possible.”
The company is one of the leading owner/operators in the UK’s onshore wind sector and has a total of eight operational sites across northern England, with a further two in Scotland and plans for more to follow.
It is also currently looking to deploy further renewable energy technologies at a number of new sites within and outside Yorkshire, including a 2.8GW battery storage site at Thorpe Marsh.
The move comes as Business Secretary Grant Shapps made a commitment to enable onshore wind projects to progress if they have local support. There had been a perceived block on development due to policy shifts.
RenewableUK’s executive director of policy, Ana Musat, said: “The Secretary of State’s support for new onshore wind projects in areas where local people want them is timely, as this technology is one of our cheapest sources of new power and one of the fastest to install, at a time we need to increase our domestic energy security to help billpayers.
“We’re calling for planning legislation to be amended as a matter of urgency to lift the de facto ban on onshore wind in England. The Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill offers an ideal opportunity to boost the UK economy by supplying households and businesses with low-cost and low-carbon electricity, enabling savings on bills to be reinvested into the economy.
“As this technology is supported by more than 70 per cent of the public and over 80 per cent of Conservative voters, we’re confident that most people will back Ministers in levelling the playing field and allowing onshore wind to compete alongside other sources of energy to drive bills down.”
READ NEXT:
Bold decisions required to unleash the Humber on Net Zero - Ed Miliband hears from business
Europe's largest battery storage system switched on early in East Yorkshire
This is what Smith & Nephew's new £94m Advanced Wound Management plant could look like
£5m boost defrosts huge Grimsby cold storage expansion after costs soared on £30m plant
All your Humber business news in one place - bookmark it now
