School’s bid to plug into wind power hit by planning obstacle

By Julie Armstrong

Last updated 05:36, Friday, 05 September 2008

PLANS to heat a Carlisle school’s hall by wind power have been stalled by a planning obstacle.

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Montage: How the proposed turbine would look at Stoneraise School

Stoneraise Community Primary School at Durdar, on the outskirts of Carlisle, has succeeded in obtaining full funding to build a £26,000 wind turbine.

But now it has been told it must carry out assessments of noise and shadow flicker, which it says will cost up to a further £4,000.

The proposed 13m turbine, which can generate five kilowatts, is the latest in a string of green initiatives at the school.

The energy it produces during the night would power an air source heat pump. This would reduce its heating costs by up to a quarter, while also preventing the emission of four tonnes of carbon dioxide a year.

Headteacher Andrew Mason said: “We were delighted to receive full funding, then we found out it looked like it would be turned down. It is bitterly disappointing.

“We had hoped to have it up and running when the new term started this week. Some of the children have been asking where it is.

“The planner’s comments seem to be as if we are putting up a huge windfarm, not one single turbine. We had located it where there were no trees or houses in the way, but they want us to resite it further away from the school in a less efficient place.

“There were no objections from anybody living nearby.

“Now we will have to carry out this expensive monitoring before reapplying, and may well have to do fundraising because we cannot go back to our grant funders again.”

A spokesman for Cumbria County Council said the school’s agent had withdrawn its application.

The turbine would slash up to £2,000 from an oil bill of £8,000 to run the school’s central heating system for a year.

The school says it would use the savings, which could equate to the cost of a teaching assistant one morning a week, to invest in further energy efficiency measures.

“As well as saving thousands of pounds a year, the wind turbine will offer the children the chance to understand how renewable energy is heating our school and saving carbon emissions,” said Mr Mason.

The school received £13,000 from the Government, £5,700 from energy company E.ON and £7,000 from Cumbria Waste Management Environment Trust.

Tony Jenkin Jones, community relations executive with E.ON, said: “We were delighted to be able to contribute towards this exciting project for Stoneraise School as part of our SOURCE scheme, which is designed to help community groups get their sustainable energy projects off the ground.

“The school was looking to replace their existing inefficient heating system to minimise their impact on the environment and make significant cost savings.”

The 120-pupil school already boasts public recycling banks for card, paper, glass and metal, and appoints pupils as ‘energy monitors’, who spend lunch and break times switching off lights.

It also installed solar panels five years ago to help heat up the domestic water supply.

For details of how to apply for a grant from E.ON, visit www.eon-uk.com/source. The next deadline for funding applications is October 3.