Plans for a temporary mast to collect wind data at the proposed Pilrow wind farm site at Rooksbridge, near Burnham-On-Sea, have been approved by Sedgemoor District Council.
The meteorological mast, which is a steel tubular pole measuring between 15 and 30cm in diameter and 70m in height, will be used to measure wind speed and direction for a period of two years.
Olly Buck, development manager for Broadview Energy said: “We are delighted that the planning committee unanimously chose to approve the mast and we hope installation will take place in the coming weeks.”
“We have already undertaken some wind analysis which shows that there is a good wind resource at the site. The met mast is needed to verify the information we have already gathered and is a standard part of the development process in any wind farm.”
Last month, Broadview completed its second round of consultation events for its controversial Pilrow wind farm.
The site, which is located to the south of Rooksbridge village, is still at an early stage in the development process and, over the coming months, Broadview will be completing a range of environmental and technical studies.
These studies will inform the final design of the site in terms of turbine numbers, positioning and height. Broadview expects to submit a planning application for the Pilrow wind farm in early 2012 and, if approved, the site could be operational in the summer of 2013.
Many local residents are opposed to the scheme, and Burnham-On-Sea.com reported here on a public meeting hekd last month where villagers voiced their concerns.
