Welcome to the Shepham Wind Farm online consultation
Update - Answers to Questions
March 2012
Since submitting a planning application for a wind farm in September 2011, many questions have been asked by the local community; some have arisen from the information provided within the planning application and some have been fuelled by misinformation.
In response, GTR has produced a booklet that sets out to answer the main questions that have been raised about the proposal. It also provides an update of the responses received from statutory consultees - such as Natural England, The Highways Agency and The Environment Agency.
Please follow this link to view a copy of the Answers to Questions Booklet.
Further information about wind power can be found in booklets written by the Centre for Sustainable Energy and Friends of the Earth. Please follow this link to view copies of these booklets.
December 2011
GTR would like to reassure residents that there are no direct health effects from noise or vibration at the level generated by wind turbines.
In response to concerns that wind turbines emit infrasound and cause associated health problems, Dr Geoff Leventhall, author of the Defra Report on Low Frequency Noise and its Effects, comments:
"I can state quite categorically that there is no significant infrasound from current designs of wind turbines. To say that there is an infrasound problem is one of the hares which objectors to wind farms like to run."
Assessments measuring wind turbine noise – and accepted by experienced noise professionals – have repeatedly shown that the levels of infrasonic noise and vibration radiated from modern wind turbines are at a very low level; so low that they lie below the threshold of perception, even for those people who are particularly sensitive to such noise, and even on an actual wind turbine site.
Given that levels of vibration from wind turbines are almost impossible to detect - only the most sensitive and sophisticated equipment can reveal their presence - there would be no impact to people’s homes or businesses from vibrations.
We hope the conclusions of qualified noise experts help to allay concerns residents may have. However, should you have any queries regarding this, or any other aspects of the proposal, please contact us at info@shephamwindfarm.co.uk.
Application Submitted
Galliford Try Renewables (GTR), part of the Galliford Try group, has recently submitted a planning application for a five-turbine wind farm near Polegate, north of the A27, following an in-depth public consultation programme. We have been exploring the possibility of a small wind farm near Polegate and Stone Cross since 2009. Please follow this link to view the planning application and Non-Technical Summary; copies are also available at Wealden District Council offices. Following the submission of the planning application, the Council will be undertaking its own formal consultation with residents, in which they can make their views known. The Council will also be consulting with a number of organisations before making a decision on the planning application.
The Proposal
If granted planning permission, Shepham Wind Farm would have an installed capacity of 10 to 12.5MW and could generate between 26,280MWh and 32,850MWh1 of electricity each year. This is enough clean electricity to power 5,590 to 6,900 homes2, which is around the combined number of households in Polegate and Westham3. The wind farm could also save 11,000 to 14,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per annum4.
Community Benefit Fund
Should the application be consented, we will provide a Community Benefit Fund as part of the project. For more information on the benefits of the Community Benefit Fund and how to become involved in the development of the trust, please visit the Community Benefit Fund webpage. Should you have any queries about the proposal please contact us at info@shephamwindfarm.co.uk.
[1] The amount of electricity produced by a wind energy development can be calculated as follows: Electricity produced = B x 0.3 x 8760 Where B = the rated capacity of the wind energy development in kW and constants 0.3 and 8760 have the same meaning as above. On average then, a typical onshore turbine in the UK, rated at 2 MW, produces 5.3 million units of electricity each year. This is equivalent to 5,256 MWh or 5.3 GWh.
[2] Based on an average household electricity consumption of 4,700kWh per annum (source: RenewableUK website).
[3] Households in 2009 (parishes) – Polegate 4,139; Westham 2,467 = 6,606 (source: East Sussex County Council’s ‘East Sussex in Figures’ website)
[4] Using a carbon displacement figure of 430g CO2/kWh and average household electricity consumption of 4,700kWh per annum (source: RenewableUK website, www.bwea.com/index.html). Emissions reductions can be calculated using the following formulae: CO2 (in tonnes) = (A x 0.3 x 8760 x 430)/1000. Where A = the rated capacity of the wind energy development in MW, 0.3 is a constant - the capacity factor - which takes into account the intermittent nature of the wind, the availability of the wind turbines and array losses. 8760 is the number of hours in a year. A typical turbine being installed onshore in the UK currently has a rated capacity of 2 MW and will therefore contribute emission reductions of 2260 tonnes of CO2 each year.
Find out more about the wind farm.