Council smart on new wind turbine

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Construction has started on Cornwall’s first, smart grid-connected wind turbine which will power the equivalent of around 1,100 homes.

The 2.3 megawatt (MW) turbine will be sited on Cornwall Council land at Ventonteague, near Carland Cross, on the A30, and is the first to be built in Cornwall since 2016.

It will generate enough renewable electricity to reduce Cornwall’s greenhouse gas emissions by more than 2,800 tonnes a year over the next two decades.

The smart grid-connected turbine will help Cornwall better manage its energy supply and power the equivalent of around 1,180 Cornish homes, representing a significant contribution towards the Council’s climate emergency agenda.

The new wind turbine is part of an EU-funded trial and forms part of the Cornwall Local Energy Market (LEM) which aims to help increase the amount of renewable energy that can be deployed by managing the electricity network more efficiently.

Launched in December 2016, the LEM project is receiving £11.5 million support from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and is a collaboration between Centrica, Western Power Distribution (WPD), N-SIDE, Imperial College, the University of Exeter and National Grid.

Edwina Hannaford, Cornwall’s Cabinet Member for climate change and neighbourhoods, said: “The 2.3MW of renewable energy to be generated from this new wind turbine will not only supply energy to the equivalent of more than 1,100 Cornish homes but also count towards Cornwall’s ambitious plans to be carbon neutral by 2030.

“In addition, it will be a testbed for our smart-grid concept and demonstrates how our Local Energy Market can make the best use of all renewable energies in Cornwall and help businesses as well.

“This initiative on Cornwall Council-owned land is part of a suite of initiatives including investment into the United Downs and Eden Project geothermal power projects.”

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