Yorkshire wind farms generated enough electricity to power more than 29,000 homes last year

The Penny Hill wind farm near Sheffield, the Hook Moor scheme to the east of Leeds, the Marr wind farm to the west of Doncaster and the Hazlehead wind near Barnsley generated almost 89,000 MWh of electricity between them over the 12 months to the end of September.And by doing so, they displaced around 18,900 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the electricity supply network.Banks Renewables is currently looking to deploy further renewable energy technologies at a number of new sites within the county, and is scheduled to start work on developing the new Barnsdale solar energy park to the south east of Leeds later this year.The six-turbine Penny Hill wind farm led the way by generating more than 33,000 MWh over the 12 months, with the five-turbine Hook Moor scheme producing around 23,500 MWh during the same period.The four-turbine Marr and three-turbine Hazlehead wind farms generated over 17,000 MWh and almost 15,000 MWh of green electricity respectively.Over the year, the four wind farms also delivered total revenues of over £50,000 for their respective community benefits funds, which provide financial support for capital projects being undertaken by groups and good causes in their respective local communities.Banks Renewables is one of the leading owner/operators in the UK’s onshore wind sector and has a total of eight operational sites across northern England, with a further two in Scotland and plans for more to follow.

The family-owned firm won planning permission last year for the Barnsdale solar energy park, which will include solar panels covering an area of around 50 hectares of south-facing land between Kippax and Allerton Bywater, close to the Hook Moor wind farm, and will be able to produce enough electricity to meet the annual requirements of up to 12,000 family homes.Richard Dunkley, managing director at Banks Renewables, says: “We’ve now been generating green electricity in Yorkshire for more than a decade, and despite calmer-than-usual weather conditions over our last financial year, our four onshore wind farms across the county are continuing to make a significant contribution to the UK’s drive towards its Net Zero objectives.“Alongside this environmental benefit, our Yorkshire wind farms also make a direct contribution to the long-term well-being of the communities in which they’re located, something which has been especially important over the last two years.“Using the widest possible range of renewable energy generation technologies will allow the UK to decarbonise its power supply and achieve its climate change targets more quickly by increasing the amount of clean green electricity available to power our homes, schools and workplaces.“The Barnsdale solar energy park will further extend the amount of clean green electricity that we can generate within Yorkshire and we have a number of further renewable energy schemes across the county in the early stages of development that will enable us to do even more in the decades to come.”

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