A £12m investment by Cornwall Light & Power brings in Vestas and Dean & Dyball Civil Engineering to deliver a carbon-free future for the Lizard
National wind-energy company Cornwall Light & Power has announced a £12 million repower investment at Goonhilly wind farm which will enable the Lizard Peninsula to meet 100% of its domestic electricity supply from local wind power and make it the most powerful wind farm in Cornwall and the South West.
The company will install six new Vestas V80 2MW turbines to replace the current 14 old models and expects to triple the electricity generated at the former First World War airship station, with output forecast to average 29 gigawatt hours per year compared to an annual domestic electricity consumption of 27 gigawatt hours by the whole of the Lizard. Goonhilly was one of the very first wind farms in the UK when it was commissioned in 1993 and as with all Cornwall Light & Power projects, competitive proposals were sought from well-established manufacturers for the repower.
Matt Partridge, development director at Cornwall Light & Power, said: “Work is scheduled to complete by the end of September, with the first electricity from the new turbines beginning to power local homes in late summer. The old machines are nearing the end of their life cycle but have proved that the Lizard has a great natural resource that can be harnessed to produce green power.”
Mike Pickford, South West Region Director for Dean & Dyball Civil Engineering, a division of Balfour Beatty Regional Civil Engineering, said: “We are delighted to work with Cornwall Light & Power on this important and high profile development. Vital to our winning the contract was our reputation as a community-sensitive contractor and we are working closely with all involved to minimise the impact of our presence.”
Ken Fiddes, Sales Director of Vestas, said: “We are delighted that the repower will see our 17 year-old turbines replaced with Vestas’ new machines. This is the fourth contract we have signed with Cornwall Light & Power, and to have the best technology in service at the country’s most southerly wind project is very satisfying.”
The Goonhilly Greenpower Project has attracted strong local interest and support and at a local community briefing it was revealed that Cornwall Light & Power is also spending around £1m on upgrading the cables serving Mullion and the Lizard, improving the quality of power supply, to the benefit of electricity consumers locally.
Cornwall Light & Power CEO, Neil Harris, said: “The Goonhilly Greenpower Project is an example of Cornwall’s growing ambition to be the low carbon capital of the UK and demonstrates how we are able to develop projects in close communication with the local community, whether in Cornwall, Yorkshire, Wales or anywhere in the UK.”
Planning permission for the Goonhilly Repower was granted in summer 2008.