A planning application for an extension to the permitted lifespan of the Lambs Hill Wind Farm near Stockton-on-Tees has been approved by Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council.
Renewable energy firm Banks Renewables was originally given permission to run the four-turbine wind farm, which sits to the south west of Stillington, for 25 years.
But having carried out regular maintenance work at the site and reviewed its efficient ongoing operational performance, the family firm decided to look for permission to extend the lifespan of the wind farm by 15 years, to 40 years’ duration.
No other aspects of the wind farm’s operation will change as part of the planning application, no new turbines are being installed and all the existing planning conditions under which it operates, including those which protect the residential amenity of local residents, remain unaltered.
The Lambs Hill Wind Farm has been operational since late 2016 and generated over 20,400 MWh of green electricity during Banks Renewables’ most recent financial year.
This is enough to meet the annual electricity requirements of around 7,000 homes, and displaced more than 4,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the electricity supply network.
The wind farm also generates around £12,000 every year for the Lambs Hill Wind Farm Community Benefits Fund, which supports community and environmental projects put forward by local voluntary groups and charities and which will also now extended for a further 15 years.
Grants totalling more than £54,000 have been made from the fund over the last seven years, with recipients include Stillington Youth Club, Grindon Parish Hall, Stillington & Whitton Parish Council, Bishopton Playground Association and the Friends of Stillington Village Hall.
Kate Culverhouse, community relations manager at the Banks Group, says: “The Lambs Hill Wind Farm has been efficiently generating significant amounts of clean green electricity for several years, and we’re very pleased that we will now be able to increase the contribution it can make towards meeting the UK’s Net Zero targets.
“Extending the wind farm’s lifespan will help us maximise the environmental, energy security and social benefits that it can deliver, as well as enabling us to provide even more benefits directly into surrounding communities.
“Generating as much of the energy that we all use as we can via renewable means will enable the country to decarbonise its power supply and achieve its climate change targets more quickly than would otherwise be possible.”
Find out more about Lambs Hill Wind Farm here.