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Too much wind delays erection of new turbines

Cornwall's six-year wait for a new wind power project was delayed by a further 48 hours - by the wind.

The weekend's storms meant that construction had to be halted at Cornwall Light & Power's new project at Roskrow Barton, near Penryn.

Erection of two Vestas 850 kilowatt turbines, with a capacity of 1.7 Megawatts, was due to start on Friday. However hoisting and manoeuvring tower sections and blades into place was out of the question, and celebrations planned for Monday had to be put on hold.

The construction team were able to resume work when the wind dropped on Monday afternoon. A 44-metre high tower was erected by nightfall and the first turbine was completed on Tuesday morning when the three 26-metre long blades were attached.

By lunch time today (Wednesday) erection of the second turbine had been completed.

Cornwall Light & Power Chief Executive Neil Harris said: "Based on predictions for the average wind speed for the site, and not the howling gale we experienced there at the weekend, we predict that the two turbines will produce 5,500 Megawatt hours of clean, emissions-free electricity per annum."

"This is equivalent to the electricity used annually by 1,100 Cornish households, and when the site starts full production in a few weeks' time the power generated will go into the local electricity distribution network and be consumed locally."

"This means that the two new turbines help reduce the community's dependence on fossil-fuel and nuclear-generated electricity which form the majority of the supply imported into Cornwall."

Cornwall is currently producing just over 52 Megawatts of its electricity from renewable sources, and 75 per cent of this is from onshore wind power. Seven wind farms at Delabole, Carland Cross, Cold Nothcott, Goonhilly, St Breock, Four Burrows and Bears Down were built during a 10-year period from November 1991.

Roskrow Down is Cornwall's first wind project since Bears Down was commissioned in July 2001.