Ovenden Moor Art Competition

In conjunction with Thornton Art Trail we are holding an art competition for those people living or working around the wind farm. Entries have now been submitted and all art is being exhibited in Thornton until the end of October.

The wind farm has been in operation since June 1993 and was completed with financial assistance from the European Union under its Thermie programme, which aimed to support the development of 'green' technologies.

The wind farm is owned by Yorkshire Windpower Limited, a 50/50 joint venture between E.ON UK Renewables and Energy Power Resources Limited (EPRL). Situated 440m above sea level, the turbines are set out in two lines forming a 'V' shape, to make best use of the prevailing south westerly wind. In 2005 Ovenden Moor met the average domestic needs of 5,600 households, saving approximately 10,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions - roughly the same emissions that would be produced by 1,000 people each travelling 165,000km by train! On top of that, it also saves 91 tonnes of sulphur dioxide and 30 tonnes of nitrous oxides emissions annually.

Community Benefits

It's not just the environment that has benefited from the presence of Ovenden Moor in West Yorkshire. In April 2003, more than 400 youngsters from six local schools visited the wind farm as part of an environment project. They were able to get inside the wind turbines and the renewables team were on hand to talk to them about the wind farm and its role in UK energy production.