Wind Park at Avonmouth named best in the South West
But is the region doing enough when it comes to renewables?

November 14th

Regen SW, the renewable energy agency for South West England, chose Avonmouth Docks Wind Park as its favourite project of 2007, last night at its annual awards ceremony. The awards recognise and celebrate those people and projects leading the way in the development of renewable energy in the region.

Avonmouth Docks Wind Park is the first project of its kind in the South West, being built as it is on industrial land. These are also the very first turbines in Bristol. No, really.

And it marks a return to the South West for Ecotricity, we last built a turbine here 11 years ago, in Gloucestershire, which er... still has only the one turbine.

It’s nice to have awards but the question begging to be answered is this – is the South West doing anywhere near enough when it comes to renewables?

Is Gloucestershire? One turbine per 11 years?

Or Somerset? Yet to get its first wind turbine - although we have one in construction right now (on our site at Shooters Bottom).

We think the answer is no. Fine words aren’t being matched by planning deeds.

"We need so many more projects of this scale, and we need them quickly, if we are to build a sustainable future independent of fossil fuels and to have any chance of avoiding the worst effects of Climate Change." said Dale Vince MD of Ecotricity.

"We’re very proud of this project, but come on planners in the South West – we need serious amounts of Renewable Energy, we need to be building like there’s no tomorrow"

Set in the industrial landscape of the port, Avonmouth's three turbines are destined to become a well known landmark, representing a forward thinking region with green issues at the heart of its agenda. Well we’d like to think so.