The Marston Mill Wind Turbine

The Proposal

The Marston Vale Trust (the charity creating the Forest of Marston Vale) is committed to the environmentally led regeneration of Marston Vale.  The Trust considers that wind energy has a significant role to play in creating a more sustainable future for the area.  The Trust held a number of public information days at the Forest Centre in 2005 and 2006 which showed that there was excellent local support for a wind turbine in the Millennium Country Park with 87% of respondents considering it an ‘excellent’ or ‘good’ idea and less than 10% considering it to be ‘not a good idea’. 

In 2007 the National Energy Foundation undertook a wind feasibility study on behalf of the Trust and determined that adequate wind resource existed.  The Trust has now received planning permission to install a single wind turbine in the Millennium Country Park, approximately 1km east of the village of Marston Moretaine. The wind turbine will provide enough electricity for the Forest Centre and over 900 houses.  The electricity generated will be used by the Forest Centre with the surplus sold to the National Grid through an off-site underground connection to the grid network, providing income for investors, supporting the Marston Vale Trust in its work to create the Forest of Marston Vale and creating a community fund for local environmental projects.

Planning Application

The Trust secured Growth Area Funding to take the Marston Mill Wind Turbine Project through to planning consent, and a planning application was submitted to central Bedfordshire Council on 13th April 2010 and was granted on November 10th 2010.  The planning application will be for the erection, 25 year operation and subsequent decommissioning of a single wind turbine similar to an Enercon E-70 machine which could produce up to 2.0 MW and has a hub height of up to 85m (approximately the height of the Stewartby chimneys), a rotor diameter of 71m and a maximum blade to tip height of 120.5m.

• The Marston Vale Trust has been granted planning permission to erect a wind turbine in the Millennium Country Park.
• The turbine will have a hub height of 85m and a rotor diameter of 71 meters, giving a maximum overall height of 120.5 meters.
• The proposed turbine could produce up to 2.0MW of electricity.
• On-shore wind turbines generate electricity around 70 - 80% of the time. Typically averaging an output of 30% of their capacity over a year.
• Two years of wind speed studies have indicated that a turbine in the Millennium Country Park would be commercially viable.
• The proposed turbine would feed enough electricity to the grid to supply the Forest Centre and over 900 houses.
• The average wind farm in the UK pays back the energy consumed in its manufacture and construction in three to ten months.
• The turbine would have a 25 year life and funds will be set aside for its decommissioning and removal at the end of its life.
• The turbine would produce around 30 times more electricity in its life than was used in its manufacture and construction.
• The Trust held a number of public information days at the Forest Centre in 2005 and 2006 which showed that there was excellent local support for a wind turbine in the Millennium Country Park with 87% of respondents considering it an ‘excellent’ or ‘good’ idea and less than 10% considering it to be ‘not a good idea’
• Electricity from the proposed turbine would be sold to the National Grid, creating income for the Marston Vale Trust and reducing the Vale’s dependence on fossil fuels.
• The turbine would cost around £3m to buy, build and commission.
• The turbine would produce around £0.5m worth of electricity every year, paying back the investment in 6 years.
• The Trust would partner with a commercial energy company to finance the project.
  

Marston Moretaine Action Group (MMAG) have taken a close interest in the proposal and have commented on the application. The group's comments suggest that their members are not in favour of the proposal. Click here to read the group's comments.