A South Yorkshire wind farm belonging to Banks Renewables could be in operation for another 15 years thanks to the approval of Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council.
Penny Hill Wind Farm, which is south east of the town and west of the junction of the M1 and M18, has been operational since 2013. The six turbine site could now generate electricity up to 2043 under plans first tabled by Banks last year.
The firm says the site will operate under existing conditions with no new turbines and promises to protect the amenity for nearby residents. Banks also highlighted that the turbines produced more than 37,500 MWh of electricity in its last financial year - enough to power more than 12,000 homes.
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The company is also looking to develop a new solar energy generation and battery energy storage project at Dinnington, close to
the Penny Hill Wind Farm, and also has plans for the a new green energy hub at the former Thorpe Marsh power station site near Doncaster, which includes what it says could be the largest battery energy storage system planned in the UK.
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. Generating as much of the energy that we all use as we can via renewable means will enable the country to decarbonise its power supply and achieve its climate change targets more quickly than would otherwise be possible."
Banks Renewables owns and operates four Yorkshire wind farms including: the Hook Moor scheme, east of Leeds; the Marr site, west of Doncaster and the Hazlehead near Barnsley. Together, the sites are said to have generated enough electricity to power a city about the size of Wakefield, last year.
