frequently asked questions

We want people to have access to the information the Delabole Repowering Project. If you have questions about specific areas like planning and the environmental implications please look at the specific page. For all other queries, take a look at our Frequently Asked Questions.

How much bigger are these new turbines?
We haven’t yet confirmed the exact size of the new turbines.  At present, we are evaluating two options.  The first involves a turbine that has a hub (or mast) that is 60 meters high and the length of the blades is about 30 meters. This means the turbines will be about 90 meters at their highest point – 85% higher than the existing turbines.  The other option involves a smaller number of larger turbines.  These turbines will be 120 meters at their highest point – 145% higher than the size of the existing turbines.

How much will the repowering cost?
The cost of one megawatt of installed capacity, which will provide enough electricity for 750 homes, is in the region of £900,000.

How much is this project going to contribute to SW/Cornish renewable energy targets?
We will be applying to increase the installed capacity by up to three times, while retaining a similar number of turbines. Cornwall’s renewable energy target is to achieve between 93-108 MW of installed capacity. If the Delabole repowering is completed it can deliver in excess of 12% of that target.

Is the government subsidising wind power?
For each MegaWatt Hour (MWh) of electricity generated by a wind turbine it produces a Renewable Obligation Certificate (ROC). A ROC is worth between £40 -£45 and this cost is met by all consumers in their electricity bills, increasing the charges of every UK household by roughly £7 each year.

What is the carbon footprint of making and building the turbines?
Each operational wind farm typically pays back the electricity consumed in making, installing, operating and decommissioning the wind farm in the first 3-10 months of its 20 year life.

How long do conventional power stations take to pay back the energy used in their construction?
Coal and nuclear power stations take about six months to generate the amount of energy taken to build them but for both, the energy they generate has environmental implications.

Coal-fired power stations emit 890 grams of carbon dioxide for every unit of electricity they produce. Nuclear power stations produce 0.012 grams of high level nuclear waste for each unit of electricity they produce.

Is nuclear power a more viable low carbon technology than wind power?
Nuclear power is a low carbon form of energy generation but the radio active waste creates its own environmental problems and the total cost of decommissioning nuclear power stations is an unknown – the figure put on the cost of decommissioning Britain’s aging nuclear reactors by Gordon Brown is £90 billion. This may rise further and is a burden that will be passed to generations who have not used the power the nuclear stations have created.

Furthermore, the radioactive elements which provide the fuel for nuclear power stations are of limited supply and must be imported to Britain – we do not believe this is a sustainable fuel source.

How productive are wind turbines?
Wind turbines generate electricity for 70-85% of the time, but not always at full output. To get a fair representation of their production it is important to look at the capacity factor. The capacity factor is the amount of energy that is generated in relation to its installed capacity. The existing wind farm at Delabole has a capacity factor of 29%. The proposed taller turbines will benefit from the stronger higher winds and this may increase the capacity factor and make the repowering project even more productive.

Importantly, The UK’s energy system is designed to incorporate intermittency. When wind generation is active, other energy generation can fall dormant. In the summer, when wind power generates less, energy production from other forms of generation can be increased.

What will happen to the old turbines at Delabole?
What is the environmental impact of decommissioning them?
It is likely the existing turbines will be dismantled and sold to an interested party who will recondition and re-install them at another site where it is likely the wind speeds will be lower. The decommissioning of the existing wind turbines will be considered as part of the Environmental Impact Assessment and this will contain information about noise, waste and timings.

Who will be using the energy that is generated?
The electricity that will be generated by the Delabole wind farm will be exported to the local distribution network. The electricity that is generated will be supplied to Good Energy customers.

If there is an emergency at the Wind Farm, who do we contact? Is there 24 hour back up?
As part of the health and safety regulations for wind farms, notices on the boundaries of the wind farm list emergency numbers. There are computer systems monitoring the turbines and the electrical infrastructure at all times so any irregularity in the wind farms operation will be noticed immediately by the Delabole Wind Farm operation and management team.

Are wind turbines ever struck by lightening?
Some of the turbines at the existing wind farm have experienced lightening strike. On each occasion there has been no danger posed to any member of the public. Modern turbines have an efficient lightening protection system built into the blades, minimising the damage caused to the turbines. This allows the turbines to continue generating electricity safely or keep repairs to a minimum. The turbines we aim to install will have this technology.

The proposed positioning of the new turbines, as with the existing ones, is designed to ensure the safety of the public at all times.

Could all wind farms be built offshore?
We will need a mix of both onshore and offshore wind energy to meet the UK's challenging targets on climate change. At present, onshore wind is more economical than development offshore. Furthermore, offshore wind farms take longer to develop, as the sea is inherently a more hostile environment. To expect offshore to be the only form of wind generation allowed would therefore be to condemn us to miss our renewable energy targets and commitment to tackle climate change.

Here in the UK, we are lucky enough to have good winds both on and offshore, and our first offshore turbines at Blyth began generating electricity in December 2000. More offshore wind farms are now generating at locations around the coast, and more are under construction or planned.

Why take down the old turbines and not just build a new wind farm on a new site?
Finding, purchasing and obtaining planning approval for a wind farm is a complicated process that takes time. As the current wind farm at Delabole is approaching the end of its lifespan we have decided to replace the existing turbines with new turbines. This will maximise the productivity of the wind farm site and we believe it can be achieved more quickly than starting and completing a wind farm project from scratch.

Please note that Good Energy Group is also working on new wind farm projects as well.