LOCAL people are being offered the chance to get involved in a new community wind turbine near Lee Mill.

Wind energy company Victre will shortly submit a planning application for a single turbine on land just to the north east of New England Quarry.

The disused quarry itself was granted permission earlier this year to be restored and turned into an ‘environmental ark’, including a two hectare solar array and two 42-metre wind turbines.

Having worked with landowner Neil Tugwell on the plans, Victre is now proposing a larger, 102-metre turbine nearby. The 500kw machine would generate enough power each year for around 350 homes.

Although the proposed site does not belong to Mr Tugwell, the turbine would make use of spare capacity in the grid connection at the quarry.

Victre held an information and consultation session at the Smithaleigh Hotel on Monday, to gauge the reactions of locals.

Joshua Allsop from the company said that 30 to 40 people had attended throughout the afternoon, and most had viewed the project favourably.

The main areas of concern, he said, were that permitting the turbine would set a precedent for others nearby, and the structure’s height and colour.

But Mr Allsop confirmed that there was only enough capacity in the national grid connection for one 500kW wind turbine, meaning no more could be built in this area. He added that if necessary, the turbine would be coloured grey, as the two soon to be installed at the quarry site would be, and could be reduced in size.

In August 2013 a community wind turbine was installed near South Brent, thanks to the efforts of Sustainable South Brent, which formed the South Brent Community Energy Society. By selling shares of between £200 and £20,000, the society was able to raise the entire cost of the turbine, £420,000.

The proposed Lee Mill turbine, which would cost around £1.5 million, is likely to be owned on a shared basis between Victre and the community, although the exact details have yet to be decided.

Local environmental group PL:21 has long been looking for a community renewable energy scheme to get behind, and is currently reviewing the project to see how locals and community groups could get involved.

One possibility is that a community benefit fund could be set up with the proceeds of selling energy to the grid, which local groups could access.

PL:21 secretary Katie Reville said: ‘We are keen to help the developers explore ways for the local community to get involved in and benefit from this wind turbine project.

If you are interested in helping shape the potential community benefits from this scheme and want to be kept informed of future meetings and opportunities to get involved, please e-mail pl:[email protected] or call 01752 698783.

‘PL:21 is the local Transition Initiative for Ivybridge and the surrounding area and aims to promote and encourage sustainable lifestyles.

‘A key element of the Transition Movement is for communities to become less reliant on fossil fuels and so using energy from renewable sources, such as the wind, is a huge step in the right direction.

‘PL:21 was involved in a strategic study of south west Devon energy resources, and wind power has the best potential for meeting our energy demand locally.’

Victre’s Joshua Allsop said the project was open to any community groups in the area.

He said: ‘This project was born from the fact that there was leftover grid capacity at the New England Quarry development. Neil had the option to make the solar array bigger, but decided he wanted to give something back to local people, so he thought of a community scheme.

‘The model is not yet confirmed. If and when we receive planning permission and the project is completely de-risked, we’ll start looking for community investment.

‘There are a lot of people who are really interested in renewable energy and would love to be able to set up a scheme, but can’t. This could be a way for them to get involved.’