Shareholders save wind farm (From The Oxford Times)

Shareholders save wind farm

8:16am Friday 4th May 2007 in News By Reg Little

Shareholders have come to the rescue of the UK's largest community owned wind farm.

The Westmill Wind Farm Cooperative at Westmill, near Faringdon, raised £4m from members of the public two years ago when shares went on offer.

Huge global demand for wind turbines led to substantial increases in the cost, but the cooperative has managed to raise a further £1.25m in three weeks from its 2,382 members.

At its annual general meeting, held in Oxford's Said Business School, 92 per cent voted to proceed and raise extra equity.

One shareholder said: "It is not a huge development blighting miles of countryside, such as the massive project planned for Lewis in the Hebrides.

"We have to get away from the corporate desire to build huge wind 'power-stations' and think about providing more local solutions for sustainable energy production.

"This is what Westmill represents and why it is so important that it works."

Construction of the five 1.3 megawatt turbines should start in the summer. The farm is expected to become operational in April 2008 and provide enough power for at least 2,500 homes.