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The Official Opening of Scout Moor Wind Farm

On the 25th of September 2008 Peel Energy, the company behind the £50 million pound development, invited councillors, construction workers, myself and the press to the wind farm on the moor between Edenfield and Rochdale for the official opening.
In the picture above Richard Dibley, wind power development manager at Peel, is about to make the opening speech. Standing on the steps of Turbine No 22 he said:
"We have welcomed people here today to thank them for their patience and understanding during the construction period and for them to see the wind farm in action at close quarters.
I think we have chosen the perfect site here as it is more than 50% windier up here than it is in the surrounding area. These turbines will be generating power for years to come using a natural resource that will never run out."

Head Teacher at Edenfield Primary School, Janet Reidy who was also present, said: "It was superb for the children to be involved with the official opening after all the work they had done about the wind farm in their lessons. I think they will all remember this in future years and now they know what it's like to be film stars with all the camera crews here!"

But not everyone was happy about the project, campaigners which included MP Janet Anderson, residents, Rossendale Borough Council and Lancashire County Council, had been fighting to retain the area needed for the £50 million development as common land up until the 25th of May 2005 when despite all the objections planning consent was granted by the Secretary of State. Link

Ann Metcalf, of the Friends of Scout and Knowl Moor, said: “The decision devastated us. It went against the decision of the towns and county council.
“We were not against renewable energy but the siting of this wind farm was wrong.”
Today the wind farm is up and running with a life expectancy of at least 25 years and judging by the people that visit the site at weekends it has become something of a tourist attraction.

The best place to park should you wish to visit the wind farm is next to SD8315 : Ashworth Moor Reservoir near the SD8315 : Granelli's Snack Bar at Owd Betts
This is the main A680 and from this point it is about a 40 minute walk up hill to the nearest turbine once there you can make good use of the 8 miles of access road that has been constructed linking all the 26 turbines together

SD8218 : Scout Moor Wind Farm Official Opening (2)
SD8218 : Scout Moor Wind Farm Official Opening (3)
SD8218 : Scout Moor Wind Farm Official Opening (4)
SD8417 : Working on the hub 60 metres up.
SD7919 : Last Turbine Tower Delivery to Scout Moor
SD8417 : View from the top of Turbine Tower No 10 looking North West

Turbine details: Tower Height: 60m
Blade Length: 40m Total Max Height: 100m
Manufacturer: Nordex
Model: N80 Link

Key Facts Link

Scout Moor Wind Farm Construction Picture Gallery
Link