Heckington Fen, North Kesteven
Our biggest wind park to date
Anyone who lives in the fenland areas of Lincolnshire will know they have their fair share of the UKs wind resource and we hope to harness some of this with our proposals for an area of land at Heckington Fen.
Our early studies indicate this is a good site for windmills, but we’re at an early stage. Our next step is to consult with local people and with the Council.
At this stage, we can't be definite on how many turbines and what size they will be. We think the site may have the potential to provide electricity for more homes than there are in North Kesteven – a significant milestone in the fight against climate change.
Vital statistics
Site address - East Heckington, Lincolnshire
Planning Since - 12 Aug 2009
Turbines - tbc
Hub height - tbc
Rotor diameter - tbc
Capacity - >50MW
Green electricity per year -
165 million units
Equivalent homes - 50,000
CO2 savings - 71,000 tonnes
22 April 2010
Over the past three months, since the submission of our Section 36 application, we have been carrying out further detailed environmental survey work. This has confirmed our initial conclusion that this is a good site for wind energy generation.
We have also appointed radar specialists and we’re confident that they will be able to develop a mitigation solution that will overcome the concerns held by the MoD.
16 December 2009
We’ve now submitted our application to construct and operate a wind park at Heckington Fen. As it would have a capacity above 50MW, it has to be sent to the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change under Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989. The suggested site layout has 28 turbines, with the preferred model being a Enercon E -70 which is 100 metres to tip.
These are specifically designed to be visually appealing and have no gearbox so they are ultra-quiet too. What’s more they are really efficient, producing as much as 2.3MW of green electricity each, which means the whole site could generate an impressive 64MW. That’s enough to power the equivalent of a whopping 49,900 homes - more than the 38,870 there are in the entire North Kesteven District – and all from just the natural power of the wind already passing over the site.
Initial surveys and analysis of the site have identified no major issues, so we really feel really positive about its potential. Further Environmental Asssessment work will be carried out in due course and when completed, this will form the basis of an Environmental Statement to support the application. And as we’ve said before, consultation with the local community and their elected representatives will be carried out as this work progresses.
12 August 2009
As the capacity of this wind park is above 50MW, this is a proposal which would be determined by central government under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989. At this time we hope to be able to submit an application by the end of this year.
In due course we will be holding a local exhibition where residents will be able to take a look in more detail at what we have in mind and ask us any questions they may have, and give us their opinions. We will also be submitting a planning application for a wind monitoring mast. This is used to provide us with a more accurate picture of the wind resource at the site.
If you would like any further information about the project please do not hesitate in contacting us at:
heckington-fen@ecotricity.co.uk
