Section 36 consent was submitted to the DTI in January 2004. A public enquiry into the wind farm application began at the beginning of 2007.

Why Tween Bridge?

The wind farm is expected to make a significant contribution towards UK Government targets for renewable generation. We believe that the Tween Bridge scheme has a number of advantages as a wind farm location, specifically the area benefits from a number of features which are key to the successful development of a suitable wind farm:

• Significant wind resource
• Close to a suitable connection into the electricity grid

Community Benefits

The Tween Bridge Wind Farm would provide a community fund towards worthwhile local projects and initiatives. This fund would provide approximately £1.25million for the benefit of local people. Already two potential projects have been identified -

• A new sports centre at Moorends
• A new visitor centre at Thorne Nature Reserve

The Tween Bridge Wind Farm would:

• Provide over 30,000 homes annual electricity needs - that's one in ten households in Doncaster
• Save over 3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide over its lifetime (25 years) - that's equivalent to the emissions from 32,000 family cars, each travelling 12,000 miles a year
• Breathe new life into the Stainforth and Keadby Canal
• Create more than 100 jobs during construction with a small number of jobs also needed to provide a permanent maintenance team

Community Engagement

As part of a programme to raise awareness a major public consultation exercise was undertaken by United Utilities Green Energy Ltd when the original application was submitted. This allowed an understanding of the issues which are important to key stakeholders, the local community and local authority. It was also important in providing those living or working close to the proposed development with more information and the opportunity to talk to developers working on the proposal. Public exhibitions were held in Thorne in November 2003, attendees were invited to complete a questionnaire which indicated that:

• 66% supported the proposal
• 23% opposed the project
• 11% were undecided

Planning permission for the Tween Bridge proposal was originally submitted by United Utilities Green Energy Ltd. In 2004 E.ON UK Renewables acquired United Utilities portfolio of development sites, including Tween Bridge, and have since taken over the promotion of the proposal.