Technical details
Learn more aboutthis turbine
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.
35m
Height
39m
Rotor Size
800MWh
Yearly energy production
97%
Uptime
Background & history
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.