Council approves plans to extend wind farm lifespan

Rotherham Council has approved an application to extend the lifespan of the six-turbine Penny Hill Wind Farm by 15 years to 2043.The wind farm, owned and operated by Banks Renewables and operational since 2013, generated 37,500MWh of electricity during Banks’ last financial year, enough to power more than 12,000 homes.Jamilah Hassan, community relations manager at the Banks Group, said, “The Penny Hill Wind Farm has been generating significant amounts of clean green electricity for a decade and we’re very pleased that we will now be able to increase the contribution it can make towards meeting the UK’s Net Zero targets.“Extending the wind farm’s lifespan will help us maximise the environmental, energy security and social benefits that it can deliver, as well as to provide even more benefits directly into surrounding communities.”Banks owns and operates four windfarms in Yorkshire – as well as Penny Hill, it has the Hook Moor scheme east of Leeds, the Marr wind farm west of Doncaster and the Hazlehead wind near Barnsley – which together produce enough electricity to power 32,300 homes.The company is also looking to develop a major new solar energy generation and battery energy storage project at Dinnington, close to the Penny Hill Wind Farm, and is currently progressing plans for a groundbreaking new green energy hub at the former Thorpe Marsh power station site near Doncaster, which includes what is thought to be the largest battery energy storage system currently being planned in the UK.