The operators of a successful South Cumbrian wind farm are celebrating the scheme’s tenth birthday.
Banks Renewables’ Armistead Wind Farm, which sits to the east of the M6 between junctions 36 and 37, has generated around 308,355 MWh of clean, green electricity since it came online a decade ago.
This is enough to meet the annual electricity requirements of almost 106,000 homes, or a city more than twice the size of Lancaster.
The six-turbine scheme has also generated almost £140,000 for the Armistead Wind Farm Community Fund over the last decade, with 34 grants made so far to local voluntary groups and charities in support of a range of community and environmental projects.
Around £28,000 is currently available in the fund to support further local projects, with grant applications able to be submitted at any time.
Banks Renewables is one of the leading owner/operators in the UK onshore wind industry and has a portfolio of ten operational onshore wind farms located across Scotland and the north of England, including the nearby Heysham South Wind Farm.
“Alongside the environmental and energy security benefits it is delivering, Armistead is also making a long-term contribution to the well-being of surrounding communities”
Earlier this year, the family firm was granted permission by South Lakeland District Council to run the Armistead Wind Farm for an additional 15 years, taking its expected lifetime to a maximum of 40 years.
Jamilah Hassan, community relations manager at The Banks Group, says: “The Armistead Wind Farm has fulfilled the promises that we made at the very start of this project by consistently generating significant amounts of green electricity, which is being used to power homes, schools, hospitals and businesses.
“Alongside the environmental and energy security benefits it is delivering, Armistead is also making a long-term contribution to the well-being of surrounding communities by helping to enhance the facilities and the funding support available to local environmental and community projects.
“With funding for grass roots projects often difficult to find, this direct community contribution is more important than ever before, and the positive impact it has had over the last decade can be seen clearly right across the area.
“Generating as much of the energy that we all use via renewable means is a crucial part of the UK’s journey towards its Net Zero targets and will enable the country to decarbonise its power supply and achieve its climate change targets more quickly than would otherwise be possible.”
Potential applicants to the Armistead Wind Farm Fund should contact the fund manager via fundmanager@bankscommunityfund.org.uk or on 0191 378 6342 to check if their group or project is eligible.