UK-based egg supplier Noble Foods has received planning permission to install a 110 metre, 1.5MW wind turbine on land at its agriculture, milling and packing centre in Fife, east Scotland. The project is being developed and installed by micro generation specialist Wind Direct and has been granted conditional approval by the local authority.
Construction is scheduled to begin later this year with the site becoming operational in 2012. Once complete, the turbine is expected to produce 75 per cent of Noble's electricity requirements at the facility.
Roy Ferguson, project manager for Wind Direct, said, 'We applied for planning permission in April this year and I am delighted to say that it has been a very smooth process thanks to Fife Council's pragmatic approach to the application. It has resulted in a swift and successful outcome for our client. The success of the project to date is reflective of Noble Foods' standing in the community and a clear indication of the suitability of this site for a development of this nature.'
Noble Foods has already installed 11 small-scale turbines across its sites in the UK and in 2004 appointed Nigel Youd as its dedicated environmental manager.
Youd said, 'We currently produce a range of environmentally friendly eggs, but the installation of the Wind Direct turbine moves us even further ahead of the pack, as well as delivering major savings in [carbon dioxide] emissions and improving our green status. Both of these factors contribute towards a more sustainable business that meets the demands of our customers both now and in the future.'
Micro generation projects for commercial buildings in the UK are on the rise with the country's largest rooftop solar farm becoming operational last month on a warehouse in South East England. At the beginning of August, IKEA's UK division purchased a wind farm to offset 30 per cent of its electricity consumption in the UK.