It seems to have taken forever, but this afternoon Low Spinney Wind Farm was finally officially 'open'!
They couldn't have chosen a better afternoon for wind - on a very blustery day the four turbines were operating at maximum speed and generating maximum power, so it was a good chance to see whether they really would be as noisy as the opposition group had claimed.
The four turbines have been named by pupils from Gilmorton & Dunton Bassett primary schools and have been called 'Spinner', 'Gilly', 'Whizzy' and 'Wurzel', and children from the schools were on site to cut the ribbons to officially 'open' the turbines.
I had a chat with one of the Broadview Energy directors, Peter, who told me that the turbines are currently completing their final testing and will then be handed over from the manufacturers. He said that the long delay between building and operation had been caused by waiting for the connection to the grid, under the M1, to be made. It was interesting to find out more from him about how the sites for wind farms are chosen.
Local MP Andrew Robathan also stopped by and I asked him what he thought of the wind farm. He gave a fairly bland and non-commital response... well, he IS an MP!
So... are they noisy? Well, I recorded one of them, standing directly underneath it, and there is a clear 'swoosh' as each blade passes the tower, but it's not an annoying or unpleasant sound. From Low Spinney, the drone of the traffic on the M1 is louder and more annoying. You can see, and hear, the short video I made here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RT9cptKZbW4
It wil be interesting to see whether we can hear any noise from them when it's quieter during the night, but I have to say I don't have any real concerns at the moment.
There's some pics on our Facbook page, www.facebook.com/thebestoflutterworth
