A common question regards the time it takes for a wind project to pay back in energy savings the energy associated with its development and construction. A modern wind farm in an area similar to the proposed  scheme will offset all of the energy emissions associated with its entire life-cycle in less than a year. No fossil fuelled power plant can ever achieve this.

When talking to people, we are often asked "why as a country, don't we simply use less electricity and just improve energy efficiency?" Unfortunately, year on year we are continuing to increase the amount of energy we each use - in spite of many years of energy efficiency programmes. Within the broader picture, to ever come close to reducing emissions to limit and ultimately reverse our effects on the climate, we will have to do everything on the CO2 saving ‘shopping list', from improving the energy performance of our homes and appliances, to moving ourselves and goods around more efficiently, and significantly changing the way we generate electricity using more nuclear, more onshore and offshore wind power and further developing use of wave and tidal power. There is no single solution, and it requires our efforts on each and every front.

UK energy trading rules mean that we are sadly unable to offer reduced energy prices to the people around a wind energy project. However, power from wind in the UK is traded on the wholesale market and has a small, although growing influence on the price the consumer pays.

There are strict guidelines that govern noise from wind turbines (known as ETSU-R-97) to ensure that they should not be a noise nuisance to any local residents. Any wind farm development must meet these noise requirements or they could be shut down by the local council. The project has been designed to ensure noise will not be a nuisance. The best reassurance we find is to visit a modern operating turbine to hear it for yourself.

We have excellent relationships with RSPB and the Natural England offices around the country and will only ever pursue a wind energy project when we are comfortable we will not have an unacceptable significant impact on the wildlife in an area. We have undertaken a long and concerted programme of monitoring in the area to make sure we have an excellent understanding of ecology around the proposed site. We do not anticipate any significant impacts on the species using and crossing the site.

A capacity factor is a ratio that compares the annual generation from a wind turbine against the theoretical maximum it could produce if it ran at full power for every hour of the year. Capacity factors in the UK typically vary between around 20% and 40% depending where in the Country you are and how high the wind turbine is.

In the UK, wind turbines produce useful power for 70-85% of the time. The amount generated will depend upon the wind speed, and over the course of a year it will generate about 30% of its theoretical maximum output (known as it’s ‘load' or 'capacity factor’). This compares to a load factor of around 50% for a conventional power station. However, wind turbines have no fuel costs, and produce no pollution or waste.

Wind turbines typically take between 3 - 10 months to produce the electricity consumed during their life-cycle – from production and installation through to maintenance, and final decommissioning.