Wikipedia:Today's featured article/January 29, 2009



Scout Moor Wind Farm is the largest onshore wind farm in England. The wind farm, which was built for Peel Holdings, is powered by 26 Nordex N80 wind turbines. It has a total nameplate capacity of 65 MW of electricity, providing 154,000 MWh per annum, enough to serve the average needs of 40,000 homes. The site occupies 1347 acre of open moorland between Edenfield, Rawtenstall and Rochdale, and is split between the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale in northern Greater Manchester and the Borough of Rossendale in south-eastern Lancashire. The turbines are visible from as far away as south Manchester, 15 - 20 mi away. A protest group formed to resist the proposed construction, and attracted support from botanist and environmental campaigner David Bellamy. Despite the opposition, planning permission was granted in 2005, and construction began in 2007. Although work on the project was hampered by harsh weather, difficult terrain and previous mining activity, the wind farm was officially opened on 25 September 2008 after "years of controversy", at a cost of £50 million. (more...)

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