Work to begin on Bristol wind turbine that will be tallest in England

A project that could help “address the historic fuel and general poverty that Lawrence Weston continues to suffer” is set to get underway.

With the final £4m in funding secured, the long-held ambition to build what will become England’s tallest wind turbine will soon be realised.

Groundwork is expected to start in June on the turbine that will scale 150 metres in height and 115 metres in diameter. With a maximum capacity of 4.2 megawatts (MW), it will be capable of generating enough clean electricity to power close to 3,000 homes – the equivalent of Lawrence Weston’s domestic use – and will save almost 120,000 tonnes of carbon emissions over its lifetime.

The project has been spearheaded by community organisation Ambition Lawrence Weston, who secured an agreement from Bristol City Council to use land off Severn Road, and all profits from electricity sales will be reinvested back into the area.

Mark Pepper, development manager at Ambition Lawrence Weston, said: “The money generated from the wind turbine will go a long way to address the historic fuel and general poverty that Lawrence Weston continues to suffer.

“It will help fund and run our planned new community building. This centre will deliver the community and climate development action plans, written by the residents, and a renewable energy and construction skills academy. These actions will ensure we are well placed to benefit from any ‘just energy transition’ that may happen.”

Ambition Community Energy, a community interest company set up by Ambition Lawrence Weston, secured planning permission for the wind turbine in 2020.

A loan of £4m from Thrives Renewables, based on Deanery Road, means the project can now get underway with groundwork expected to begin in June and commissioning likely in spring 2023.

The group also plan to build an Energy Learning Zone to inspire young people and provide training to upskill residents for zero carbon careers.

Those leading the project predict that community-based initiatives such as this will play an important role in alleviating fuel poverty, while also helping to create local, green jobs amid rising energy bills and the need to shift to renewables.

Matthew Clayton, managing director at Thrive Renewables, said: “It’s extremely impressive to see the determination and resilience Ambition Community Energy has shown in getting the project to this stage.

“Thrive’s unique collaborative funding model will enable them to get the turbine built and operational after years of planning work.”

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

David Tudgey, project development manager at Ambition Community Energy CIC, added: “There are homes in Lawrence Weston which suffer from poor insulation and low-energy efficiency and, with energy costs continuing to soar, this means even more of our residents will face fuel poverty.

“It’s important for us that everyone is included in the clean energy transition, which is why we’ve never given up on getting this project built. Thanks to Thrive, we’re now pushing forward with construction and hope that the turbine acts as a shining example for other communities across the UK.”

Andrew Garrad, a visiting professor in renewable energy at the University of Bristol, and director of Ambition Community Energy CIC said he hopes to draw on this experience to make future community-led energy skills easier to bring to fruition.

Main photo (Mark Pepper, David Tudgey, Kye Dudd, Dr Charles Gamble, Roger Sabido): Thrives Renewables/ Ambition Lawrence Weston

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

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