Wind farm traffic disruption warning

Engineers have started concreting the foundations for the wind turbines in an operation that will last until the end of October.

The concrete is being supplied by the Tarmac depot at Aston-cum-Aughton and around 50 deliveries will be needed for each of the six turbines.

Banks Renewables, which is building the wind farm, says that the timing of deliveries had been arranged to minimise any traffic disruption, and that the firm had been working with the local councils, the project's community liaison committee and people living nearby to ensure everyone is aware when deliveries along the approved transport route are scheduled to take place.

The turbines that have been specified for the scheme have the highest capacity of any ever used in a UK onshore wind farm, and are scheduled to be delivered to the site by early 2013.

Lewis Stokes, Banks’ community relations coordinator for the Penny Hill scheme, said: “Every effort has been made to minimise the impact on local traffic of our vehicle movements over the next six weeks, and we’re grateful for the help we've had from our community contacts in spreading the word about the work that's set to take place.

“Construction work has progressed well so far, and we remain on schedule to see the turbines generating renewable energy in the first few months of next year.”

Around 30 jobs have been created directly on site through the construction of the six-turbine scheme, with a number of contracts also being awarded to local firms for the supply of materials and sub-contract works, as well as associated services such as catering and accommodation.

Anyone looking for information on the concrete delivery schedule to the Penny Hill site should call 0844 209 1515 or email [email protected]

The Penny Hill wind farm will produce enough energy to meet the annual electricity consumption requirements of over 12,000 homes — or around ten per cent of all the homes in the Rotherham area. What do you think of wind power . . . and is Penny Hill the right location? Use the 'write a comment' buttons to post your views.