Farewell old friends …

 
                                                                                   Two of the new turbines

We bade a fond farewell to the last of the 10 original turbines at Delabole Wind Farm last Tuesday – almost 19 years to the day since they were first installed. In its time, the UK’s first commercial wind farm has generated approximately 190,000 MW hours of electricity and saved in the region of 94,525 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions; a feat we are very proud of.

Peter Edwards, the landowner who developed the site originally, said: ‘I was obviously very sad to see the last turbine go for they had become definite friends over the last 19 years and had served us above all expectations.  However, it is nice to know that they are going to a good home in Lithuania to produce clean energy rather than to be recycled as scrap.’

Three of the new turbines are now up and the project is being met with the same amazing enthusiasm and support from the local Delabole residents as we’ve experienced throughout. We‘ve been able to take lots of people around the new wind farm and feedback has on the whole been positive with many people wishing we could fit more on the site.

One boy from the village got his telescope out and watched the blades go up on the third turbine from his bedroom window, unfortunately the mist came down at the crucial moment!

The plan is to switch on three of the turbines this week so we can get some renewable energy from the site into the grid as soon as possible. We’ll keep you posted.