Ecotricity wins appeal for second turbine in Suffolk
Consent has been granted for a second wind turbine at Ness Point at Lowestoft, Suffolk, the UK's most easterly point. The approval came from Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott who granted an appeal by green electricity supplier and wind developer Ecotricity after its planning application was refused by the local council. The 600 kW Enercon turbine is to be sited near to a much larger wind turbine to be built by local firm SLP Engineering. In following his planning inspector's advice, Prescott overruled objections by both the Ministry of Defence (MoD), which argued that two turbines at Ness Point would cause unacceptable interference with its radar, and SLP, who complained that Ecotricity's turbine would cause turbulence and loss of power for its own 3.2 MW machine. Dale Vince from Ecotricity says he is "chuffed" by the ruling. "It has taken a long time, too long, to get the right decision. We're looking forward to bringing wind energy to Suffolk." SLP, meanwhile, still intends to proceed with its own wind turbine. "We have taken a dogmatic approach that we are going to build ours anyway," says the company's Roger Norfolk. Ecotricity's turbine will have an impact on output of the SLP machine, but not substantial enough to cause SLP to back out of the project, he says. Despite industry comment that GE Wind is to supply the wind turbine, SLP insists it is still looking at turbine options. The company hopes to install the machine -- complete with a viewing platform -- by the end of this summer.