Faccombe Estate, Hampshire (DG001 – Vestas V39)

Location

Faccombe Estates
Faccombe
Hampshire
SP11 0DS
OS Grid Ref SU 386 592

Background

In a move that was somewhat visionary and well ahead of the times, the estate management first investigated the possibility of diversifying into renewable wind energy during the late 1980s. Faccombe is 260m (850ft) above sea level with mean annual wind speeds in excess of 7m/s (16mph) and due to its rural landscape and sparse population is ideally placed.

Despite its location in the North Wessex AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) planning permission was eventually granted and in 1993 a small wind turbine was installed in a 60m x 40m plot on the north-west corner of the estate.

In many respects finding a wind turbine within an area of countryside designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty will be surprising to many – even today. The fact permission was granted over 15 years ago when Climate Change was virtually unheard of and electricity prices were much lower makes it even more remarkable.

Details

Our first turbine (DG001) was commissioned in January 2012 and is delivering around 800MWh of green electricity each year. Capacity is currently constrained due to local electricity grid issues but in the future we hope turbine production could increase to over 1,000MWh annually.

The turbine is a Vestas V39 with 39m rotor and 35m tower height. Electricity from the turbine flows into the Faccombe Estate and helps offset usage within the manor house and farm buildings. Surplus energy is passed back onto the local grid and consumed by houses within the village.

Construction Videos

Tower/blades delivery – watch video
Foundation excavation and bottom tower section – watch video
Concrete pour – watch video
2nd tower section and nacelle installation – watch video
Rotor installation – watch video
Commissioning – watch video