England’s tallest wind turbine step closer to being built in Bristol

England’s tallest wind turbine, which will be run by a Bristol community, is a huge step closer after the city council agreed to lease its land for cheap.

Ambition Community Energy (ACE), a community interest company set up by charity Ambition Lawrence Weston, received planning permission last year for the 150m structure on local authority land in Severn Road.

It will save almost 50,000 tonnes of carbon over its lifetime, generate renewable power for nearby homes and potentially council buildings and schools, and all profits from sales of its electricity – expected to top £4.2m – will be reinvested in the area.

Labour cabinet members have now agreed to let the land to ACE for 30 years below the market value, a decision welcomed by the main opposition Green councillors.

A report to the Bristol City Council meeting said the community group would pay £25,000 annual rent to the authority in compensation for loss of income from the reduced flow of wind to its existing nearby turbines, on top of the cut-price lease, whose “significant” value has not been disclosed for commercial reasons.

The new wind turbine would be built close to turbines owned by Bristol City Council – photo: Ambition Lawrence Weston

Deputy mayor Craig Cheney said: “Projects like this are an innovative way for us to demonstrate our commitment to a just transition.

“It allows us to drive forward the decarbonisation of our city’s energy systems while supporting the development of our local communities.”

Green shadow lead for waste and energy, Martin Fodor, said: “It’s a really valuable project and it’s evidence of what has been developing in the city for well over a decade of grassroots, community-led projects which provide the maximum benefit and maximum variety of outcomes for communities through owning, controlling, initiating and innovating in local energy projects, like the solar farm in Lawrence Weston.”

Fodor said the complex way it was funded would have made many other groups give up along the way.

About £1.1m in grants and loans have been secured towards the £4m capital cost, including £500,000 from the West of England Combined Authority and £450,000 borrowed from City Funds, with the remaining money obtained from an ethical bank.

Cabinet member with responsibility for climate, ecology, waste & energy, Nicola Beech, added: “Promoting and supporting the continued transformation and progression of community energy in the city is absolutely at the backbone of our energy strategy, so this is something as an administration we have been committed to.”

The council’s development control committee granted planning consent unanimously in July 2020 against officers’ recommendation.

There were 69 letters of support and only one objection, from neighbouring Seabank Power Station which said the structure could potentially collapse onto its cooling tower, although members heard this “catastrophic failure” was likely to happen just once every 500,000 years and agreed it was “a risk worth taking”.

Main photo: The Landmark Practice

Read more: Funding secured for Bristol’s first hydro-electric generator

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