1st June 2006

Coronation Power is to appeal the decision by Calderdale Borough Council's Planning Committee to reject its planning application for the temporary erection of an anemometer mast on Todmorden Moor. The decision was announced yesterday (31st May) at a meeting of the Council's Planning Committee in Halifax.

The planning application relates to a 'met' mast to test wind strength and direction over land on Todmorden Moor, near Bacup. The mast comprises a 60-metre aluminium tower, fixed to the ground by cables. Installation of such a mast would have resulted in limited impact on the land or land use and would have been installed for a period of approximately 18 months, subject to other relevant consents being obtained.

The met mast planning application is part of Coronation Power's ongoing assessment of Todmorden Moor as a possible location for a small wind farm comprising up to five turbines with a potential output of approximately 15MW. A comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) covering a range of issues such as bird movements, land ecology, hydrology, visual impact and noise is currently being undertaken by Coronation Power before a decision is made to submit a planning application.

Mary Gallagher, Coronation Power's Public Relations Manager said: "We are very disappointed that the Planning Committee has seen fit to reject our planning application for a met mast. However, this will not prevent us from pursuing our proposal for Todmorden Moor and we plan to lodge an appeal against this decision. The need remains for clean, sustainable energy to meet Calderdale's regional renewable energy targets and to support the government's Planning Policy Statement 22 on renewable energy."

As part of its commitment to keep the local community informed about its Todmorden Moor proposal, Coronation Power hosted an exhibition last week at Todmorden Town Hall. The event was well supported with almost 100 people attending over the course of two days to discuss the proposal and to register their views.

"We were very pleased that so many people took the time to come along and talk to us and ask questions," said Mary Gallagher. "The majority of those who registered their views were strongly supportive of wind power as a safe, clean renewable energy source. They also expressed strong support for our Todmorden Moor proposal. I think they will all be very disappointed to learn of Calderdale Planning Committee's rejection decision."

If a future Planning Application for a wind farm at Todmorden Moor should be granted planning approval, it will have the potential to provide enough electricity to meet the domestic energy needs of almost 13% of Calderdale Borough Council's population or approximately 10,000 homes.* This would make a significant contribution to the North West regional renewable energy target and constitute a considerable contribution by Calderdale Borough Council towards its obligations under the government's Planning Policy Statement 22 on renewable energy. Yorkshire and Humber have a target of 670 MW by 2010 and the proposed wind farm would clearly support reaching this target.

*Figures based on average annual household electricity consumption of 4.7 MWh as recommended by BWEA.

For further information please contact:
Coronation Power
Mary Gallagher (Public Relations Manager)
T: 020 7490 0669
E: mary@coronationpower.com

Notes to Editors
Coronation Power was established in 2004 with the objective of developing wind farms in a number of UK locations that strike a fair balance between sustainability, the needs of the environment and the provision of clean energy for customers.
Further information: www.coronationpower.com