QEH bids to lead way with turbine
GROUNDBREAKING plans for a giant wind turbine at Lynn's Queen Elizabeth Hospital have been submitted to West Norfolk Council.
Ecotricity wants to build the 80-metre turbine off the hospital's main car park and, if successful, the QEH would become the first public sector organisation to be powered by green energy.
The application, submitted on Tuesday, comes just a fortnight after plans for a wind turbine at Tesco, on the town's Hardwick Industrial Estate, were thrown out on health and safety grounds.
It marks the beginning of an eight-week public consultation period and, provided it gets the green light, the scheme could be up and running by next May.
The turbine is expected to cut the hospital's energy bills by 20,000 a year and would generate 18 per cent of its power needs – enough to power 590 homes.
An Ecotricity fact sheet said even if there was no wind or the turbine broke down, the vital supply of electricity to the hospital would not be interrupted.
"If there is no wind and a turbine stops turning, no energy is being generated. The hospital would still be connected to the National Grid and would draw electricity direct from there.
"The QEH wind turbine would be remotely-controlled. In the event of any technical problems, software inside the turbine would notify Ecotricity immediately via email," it explains.
The council's development control board raised several concerns relating to wind turbines when it discussed Tesco's planning application earlier this month.
The application, for a turbine in the supermarket's car park, was turned down due to fears it could pose a risk to customers using the car park while spoiling the appearance of the area.
Members refused the application concluding: "The construction of a turbine in the position proposed would be visually intrusive, would lead to potential problems with noise and would lead to unacceptably high health and safety risks."
But a report accompanying Ecotricity's application argues that as well as boosting the hospital's green credentials, the turbine could "complement" the surrounding area.
"The wind turbine tower incorporates a streamlined, gradually-tapered design which offers a visually-sophisticated concept which has next to nothing in common with the huge and bulky conventional cylindrical structures," the report said.
An Ecotricity spokesman told the Lynn News it expected the council's decision by early May and hoped "to build within the year."
Residents can view and comment on the application at www.west-norfolk.gov.uk
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Weather for King's Lynn
Sunday 27 May 2012
Today
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Temperature: 10 C to 25 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: East
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Temperature: 10 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
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