We are proposing a windfarm with 8 turbines near Spalding in Lincolnshire.

The area being considered includes land to the north of Holbeach Hurn. Please click here to see the site boundary plan.

Within ScottishPower there is a dedicated team who specialise in working with landowners to identify potential windfarm sites. They have mapped the UK in terms of the major constraints such as aviation, national and international landscape and ecological designations, and to determine whether there is available capacity on the existing grid network. 

The UK has also been mapped in terms of wind speed. This map can be viewed on the NOABL website. Within the areas that are still potentially available to be developed, landowners are then consulted.

Once there is a possibility of a windfarm it is passed to the Project Development team and we look into the site-specific aspects such as ecology, cultural heritage, access, noise and visual aspects to determine whether the site is a viable and an appropriate option.

The proposed capacity of the site was initially thought to be able to accomodate up to 14 turbines but taking into account the constraints that have been identified to date and the area of land available, an eight turbine site is now considered to be more appropriate.  With a total site generating capacity up to 16 megawatts (MW), this is enough clean, green energy to power approximately 7,500 homes.  We are looking at turbine models in the region of 110m to blade tip.

As a general rule of thumb it is assumed that costs to build a windfarm are around £2 million per turbine at today's rate. This figure includes turbine manufacture, its delivery, its installation, as well as any infrastructure costs associated with the formation of any access tracks. It also includes for the energisation of the turbine, which would then allow it to export electricity to the grid.

The turbine manufacturers generally specify a turbine life of 25 years and therefore, within the detail of any planning application; we normally make reference to a 25-year operational life. We ensure that the timeframe requested for planning permission also covers the time required to construct and eventually decommission the site.

Why this is a good area for a windfarm

• Good wind speed
• Choice of grid connection possibilities
• Accessible site
• Limited cumulative visual impact
• Not in a designated protected area