BRIGG VIEW ON WIND OF CHANGE

Brigg councillor Rob Waltham (PICTURED) has stressed North Lincolnshire’s renewable energy projects need to be in the right locations.
Coun Waltham, cabinet member for adult and children’s services on North Lincolnshire Council, said: “We need to ensure that we get the balance right in terms of welcoming renewable energy developments in the right places. But at the same time consider the impact on local communities and ensure that we protect our natural landscape.
“With existing and ongoing plans, North Lincolnshire is set to more than meet its target to produce energy from renewable sources. In fact it will be one of the few authorities in the Yorkshire and Humber region to achieve this.
“However it is vital that we do not surrender our landscapes and environment. We want to ensure that we protect areas such as the Lincolnshire Wolds area of outstanding natural beauty and we are currently in discussions with Lincolnshire County Council to look at incorporating land up to the Humber Estuary as part of this designation.“
With growing interest from energy companies looking to develop renewable energy projects, North Lincolnshire Council has produced some planning guidelines that will ensure our natural landscape is protected.
North Lincolnshire is on the cusp of becoming the renewable energy capital of Europe and has already met its target to produce energy from renewable sources.
In recent years, the area has attracted significant interest from energy companies looking to develop renewable energy in the area.
The South Humber Gateway (SHG) is strategically placed to take advantage of its location, close to the North Sea and where the Government has identified three large areas for offshore wind energy developments that will take place over the next decade.
To meet this interest, there are plans by Able UK to develop a Marine Energy Park on the SHG, creating 5,000 jobs. And this looks set to become an international centre for the manufacture and assembly of wind turbines for the rapidly expanding off-shore wind sector.
Further renewable energy schemes are being proposed including the Heron Biomass Energy Plant and the Abengoa bioethanol plant.
The renewable energy draft document (referred to as a supplementary planning document) sets out the council’s approach to planning renewable energy projects. It aims to promote the development of renewable energy technology in those locations that have the capacity to accommodate such a development without it having an adverse affect on the natural and built environment. It also aims to provide guidance for developers in preparing planning applications.
It is currently envisaged that the public will be able to comment on the content of this document later this year, around September/October time.
Coun
North Lincolnshire is already significantly involved in the power generation industry, producing around 7% of the country’s electricity requirement.
It is also strongly supportive of renewable energy and views it as being a key part of the transformation of its economy.
The area is already home to a number of renewable energy generation facilities such as Bagmoor wind farm, Glanford Power Station at Flixborough and the country’s largest combined heat and power plant at Conoco Phillips refinery in Killingholme.
These will be joined by two large scale on-shore windfarms at Keadby and Tween Bridge in the Isle of Axholme, and the Heron Renewable Energy Plant.
A biomass power plant is also being developed by Drax Biomass (Immingham) Ltd and potentially by the Eco2 biomass plant at Brigg.
There are also plans for a further biomass plant within the Able UK Marine Park on the South Humber Gateway.
These developments represent a total of around 1,500 MW of electricity that will power approximately 700,000 homes.



DID YOU KNOW YOU CAN NOW READ MORE INTERESTING NEWS ABOUT BRIGG AND DISTRICT BY VISITING THE BRIGG PEOPLE WEBSITE?

brigg people

“YOURS TRULY” IS THE COMMUNITY PUBLISHER. YOU CAN REGISTER WITH THE SITE AND THEN UPLOAD YOUR OWN NEWS, SPORT AND VIEWS.