12:45pm Friday 27th November 2009
A WIND farm developer is confident its plans for ten turbines on farmland could be given approval in the new year.
Banks Developments submitted its updated plans for a new wind farm to the north-east of Darlington last month.
The Moor House scheme, near Barmpton, includes ten turbines with a tip height of up to 110m. It would produce 25MW of energy - enough to power up to 14,000 houses or one in three of all homes in the Darlington borough.
If the plans are approved, the developer said the farm would make a significant contribution towards the Tees Valley's target of generating 138MW of renewable energy by 2010.
The developer added it would help communities near the proposed scheme by helping tackle poor energy efficiency and high energy bills.
Feedback on the initial proposals, which were announced in July 2008, has helped to shape the final design of the scheme.
Rob Williams, renewables projects director at Banks Developments, said: "We will continue to work with the council and local community to keep them informed about progress with the scheme.
"None of the numerous statutory bodies we have consulted during our design process have expressed major concerns about the scope of our proposals.
"The site is situated in an area identified by both Darlington Borough Council and Durham County Council as having capacity for wind developments of this sort."
A decision on the proposal is expected in early 2010.
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