E.ON introduces new wind farm layout for consultation

E.ON will present the new layout for its proposed Isles wind farm near Newton Aycliffe for the second round of consultation with the local community.

E.ON changed the design of the wind farm following the local inputs last year and will now have only 24 wind turbines for the project instead of the original 45 turbines.

E.ON project manager Paul Hunt said the layout which the company is proposing takes into consideration comments it had on the visual, noise and environmental impact of the scheme and is an adaptation of one of the layouts it put forward last year.

"We’re investing heavily in the region and believe this is a good site for a wind farm. Stage two consultation provides another opportunity for the local community to have their say and we’ll be working hard over the coming months to reach out to residents to gather their feedback on the scheme," Hunt added.

"We’re currently in the pre-application stage for this wind farm and want to work with local people to put together the best possible design which will go forward for government approval next year."

The 24 wind turbines standing 100m to 126m tall will produce 63.5MW of electricity sufficient to address the needs of about 35,000 households.

The Isles wind farm if approved, will be a step to achieve the renewable energy target in UK and the company will set up a community benefit fund up to £190,000 per year to support local projects.

E.ON will gather and use the inputs and responses before completing an Environmental Impact Assessment and finalising its submission to the Planning Inspectorate which will be submitted in 2013.

The company has three plans for the wind farm and will design the wind farm after gathering the response from the local community.