Wind farm: Yorkshire moors could get England's biggest wind farm - BBC

Wind farm: Yorkshire moors could get England's biggest wind farm - BBC News

Wind farm: Yorkshire moors could get England's biggest wind farm

- Published

The largest onshore wind farm in England could be built on moorland above Hebden Bridge if planners give the scheme the go-ahead.

Calderdale Windfarm Ltd is exploring options for 65 turbines on Walshaw Moor, near Walshaw Dean reservoirs.

The company said the wind farm would generate 302 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 286,491 homes a year.

The turbines could be 150-200m (492-657ft) tall, on about 2,350 hectares of peat moorland.

A spokesperson for Calderdale Windfarm, which is backed by Worldwide Renewable Energy (WWRE), said the proposal was an "incredibly exciting opportunity".

"During a cost-of-living crisis, with ongoing energy security challenges and the climate emergency, the UK needs to explore how it can generate more carbon-free renewable electricity," the firm said.

"But our proposals are at a very early stage and we recognise there will be a range of views about the merits of our proposal.

"We look forward to continuing to work with the local community, environmental groups, local councillors and others over the coming months to help shape the final design of the project."

Large parts of Walshaw Moor are blanket bog with peat acting as a carbon store. Opponents of the scheme argue that building a wind farm would release carbon from the peat.

Analysis by Spencer Stokes, BBC Yorkshire

This is one of the first applications for a new wind farm since the government relaxed the rules on building wind farms in England following a policy review in September.

It's been almost impossible to build wind farms in England since 2015 when the former prime minister David Cameron introduced rules that meant an objection from just one person over an onshore wind development could stop it going ahead.

Several plans for wind farms above the Calder Valley have been put forward since the 1990s. One of the most vocal critics at the time was the former prime minister Margaret Thatcher's press secretary Bernard Ingham who was born in Hebden Bridge.

The scoping document from international energy firm WWRE (World Wide Renewable Energy) for the new Calderdale Windfarm proposal envisages 65 turbines with a height of between 150m and 200m. For comparison, Ovenden Moor Windfarm near Halifax has nine turbines, each 110m (361ft) high.

Calderdale Windfarm Ltd say their turbines could provide electricity for 286,491 homes. The population of Calderdale is 206,000 residents.

Ros Berrington, from Upper Calderdale Wildlife Network said: "If you're going to build a wind farm, do not put turbines on the most protected wildlife habitat site you can find - which this area is.

"I think it's very short-sighted to think that putting a wind farm on blanket bog is anything other than a crazy idea."

A full planning application will go before Calderdale Council's planning committee next year and planners will have to decide whether to throw the scheme out, give it the go-ahead or request a smaller scheme.

Councillor Scott Patience, the council's Executive Member for Climate Action, said: "Clearly people love our landscape here, it's what makes Calderdale special.

"So the idea of wind farms scares a lot of people and what that might mean for that landscape.

"Equally people need to know that some compromise will be necessary in our journey to net-zero, so what does that look like?"

Louise Maris Evans, who has advised the government's climate change committee and lives in Hebden Bridge, said: "If we put a wind farm on peat, which is an important storage for carbon, we can disturb that peat and damage it, releasing carbon into the atmosphere.

"But on the other hand if the peat isn't in the condition it should be, really wet, great peat with good sphagnum moss, there's a possibility you could say we'll give you permission for the wind farm on the condition that you then do loads of improvements to that moorland."

In recent years protesters have also called for a stop to heather burning on Walshaw Moor - which helps new shoots grow, to feed grouse for shooting - arguing that annual burning has exacerbated flooding in the valley.

WWRE said a wind farm would bring an end to burning and shooting with up to 300,000 new trees also being planted on the moor.

Its scoping report says battery storage and solar panels could also be installed at the site.

The project would also see the creation of a £75m Community Benefit Fund paid to Calderdale Council to help reduce fuel poverty across the district.

A planning application is likely to be submitted in summer 2024.

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