8:49am Tuesday 8th August 2006
By Matthew Colledge
PLANS for wind turbines across the county blew a step closer last Wednesday when Somerset County Council approved the latest stage of its long-term energy strategy.
The council agreed at an executive meeting to begin looking for a developer to build turbines on some of its 74 county farms.
A long consultation process will take place before specific sites are chosen, but several council-owned farms around Donyatt are possible locations.
Chard county councillor Paul Buchanan, who has responsibility for economic development, said: "Today's agreement over the Somerset Wind Initiative is a massive step forward in the county council's commitment to driving down carbon emissions and helping to reduce the devastating effects of climate change."
The council expects to appoint a developer in January, who will then draw up a shortlist of, at most, six possible sites.
The council says the chosen sites will have the least impact on the environment and visual amenity and reserves the right to veto any of the developer's selections.
Each site will have a maximum of three turbines and will produce a maximum of 12 megawatts of energy.
The project aims to produce 44MW of energy in the county by 2010.
It could also see the establishment of community wind turbine initiatives to allow people to buy cheaper electricity.
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