Wind Turbine Supporting Statement

Digital Development

The Old School, East Baldwin, Isle of Man. IM4 5EP. Tel/Fax. (01624) 851482 Email [email protected] Further Information - Planning application section 16.

The proposed turbine is a Proven WT6000, rated at 6Kw electrical output, and is designed for domestic use. It is mounted on a 9m self-supporting tower. Being self-supporting means no guy wires are needed. The rotor diameter is 5.5m. The tower / turbine assembly tilts down for ease of installation / maintenance. The whole assembly is supported on a reinforced concrete base. From a visibility point of view, the tower is galvanised steel grey. The turbine body and blades are matt black. These colours mean the turbine assembly blends into the background when viewed against a building, a hillside or wooded area from a moderate distance.

It is proposed to site the turbine in the paddock adjacent to Ganders. The turbine will be visible from the Baldhoon road at the point where the Baldhoon road is adjacent to the paddock. The turbine is set back from the road by 25m (towards the paddock edge furthest from the Baldhoon road). The paddock slopes away from the Baldhoon road slightly. By siteing at this location the turbine is less obvious from the Baldhoon road but will still be in a position to catch the wind. All cabling to the turbine is underground.

Photographs at the end of these additional notes indicate the views of the paddock from the Baldhoon road.

The turbine self regulates at a maximum speed of 300rpm (revolutions per minute), which is quite slow. It does not use a gearbox assembly. These two design parameters mean the noise produced by the turbine is low. Noise measurements produced by the manufacturer indicate the turbine does not produce noise levels above the ambient wind noise.

The manufacturer measured noise levels are:

For a 50m.p.h. wind speed:

Background wind noise produced mainly from the wind blowing through small trees 5m away from the point of the measurement - 60dB.

Turbine noise read at a point 2m from the tower base and with the sound meter pointed directly at the turbine rotor - 60dB

For a 12m.p.h. wind speed (gentle breeze):

Under the same conditions as for the 50mph readings, the recorded noise value was 45dB and was again not distinguishable between background wind noise and turbine noise on the sound meter. A gentle swishing noise is heard when at the base of the turbine but this does not increase the sound meter reading. As a reference, a car passing on a road (car travelling at 40mph, and the sound reading taken 15m from the road) gave readings between 70 and 80dB.

The energy policy of the Isle of Man Government supports power generation from sustainable means as a way of reducing the Islands dependency on imported fossil fuel. This proposal would contribute to the IOM commitments to reduce the effects of global warming. This proposed installation will save an estimated 6210kg of CO2 (the main greenhouse gas) emissions per annum based on an assumed average CO2 emission of 0.414kg/kWh and a conservative turbine output estimate of 15000 kWhrs.

The paddock tends to be waterlogged from surface water spilling from the Baldhoon road into the paddock. To improve drainage, which normally is carried away via a ditch at the road boundary of the paddock, an 8-inch land drain is proposed to be laid to take the surface water directly to the large pond below Ganders. This will improve the paddock drainage as the ditch tends to be inadequate at clearing away heavy surface water.

A buried cable is also proposed to be laid to the lower edge of the pond to provide the future possibility of a small hydro generator.

View from most easterly end of the paddock looking towards the house (Ganders).

View from the eastern end of the paddock, stood on the bank near the row of young trees, looking towards the house (Ganders).

View from most westerly end of the paddock looking away from the house (Ganders).

View from the western end of the paddock, stood on the bank just past the gate, looking away from the house (Ganders).