The wind farm has been operating since 1993 and an application was made to extend its operation until 2027.
Installed Capacity
4.8MW
No. of turbines
12
Turbine type
Vestas V34 (DWT WD34)
Hub height
25m
Blade length
16.8m
Expected P50 energy yield
11.4GWh
Annual house-hold power equivalent
3,815 homes*
Application to extend the operational life of the wind farm through to 2027
An application was made in 2017 to extend the operational wind farm until 2027.
The application is purely to retain the existing windfarm – the current layout and size of turbines would remain unchanged and the wind farm would look the same. There would be no new turbines, although one turbine may need to be removed at some point in the future as it is located on land affected by the expansion of the neighbouring Kirkby Slate Quarry.
The application was recommended for approval by the Planning Officer and there were no objections to the application from the Lake District National Park Authority and Natural England. However, the application was rejected by South Lakeland’s planning committee in December 2017 by six votes to five.
Having reviewed the planning committee’s decision notice, Ventient Energy has decided to appeal against the decision made, and have submitted an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate.
HOW TO SUPPORT THE PLANNING APPEAL
Once the appeal is registered with the Planning Inspectorate and an appeal number is awarded to the case, there will be an opportunity for members of the public to lend their support. Further details will be provided once they are available.
COMMUNITY CONSULTATION
A newsletter about the proposals was circulated to local residents in July 2017 followed by a public exhibition held on 19 July 2017. If you require further information, contact info@ventientenergy.com.
COMMUNITY BENEFITS PACKAGE
Since 2008, the existing Kirkby Moor Wind Farm Community Fund has already invested more than £35,000 into worthwhile projects including the multi-use games area in Kirkby-in-Furness, new footpaths and cycleways, improvements to Grizebeck Village Hall and towards the rebuild of Kirby-in-Furness Community Centre.
Each year the existing Kirkby Moor Wind Farm fund is worth £3,555. If permission for the life extension is granted, then the annual community benefit fund payments would significantly increase to up to £24,000 per annum for the extended lifetime of the project. A volunteer panel of local people would be formed to make decisions on the funding applications with support from the Cumbria Community Foundation.
Under the new scheme, it is proposed to retain the priority for local projects. Any applications within the priority area of benefit, shaded in red on the map, will be considered first, and any applications from the secondary area of benefit will be considered for any remaining funds.
Any questions relating to this wind farm should be directed to: windfarms@ventientenergy.com
*Based on the Installed Capacity x Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) "all wind" load factor expressed as a fraction of 1^ x number of hours in a year (8,760 hours) / Average Annual Domestic Electricity Consumption (MWh)^^
^BEIS's long-term average load factor for "all wind" (31.84%) expressed as a fraction of 1 (0.3184). Source for capacity factors is Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics (DUKES) published annually by BEIS.
^^Annual GB Average Domestic Consumption Values from BEIS (3,509kWh).
