• Environmental Consultancy:
• Managing for Biodiversity
• Carbon Sequestration
• Wood to Energy
• Renewable Energy

Renewable Energy

Wind Farms and Hydro Projects

Generation of electricity from wind is now one of the fastest growing sources of renewable energy. The UK has an abundance of natural resources capable of generating sustainable electricity, i.e. energy from fuel sources that will not run out, including the best wind resource in Europe. As one of the most viable current options for delivering clean energy, wind power has a crucial role to play in reducing carbon emissions.

Many forests in the UK are in suitable locations for the development of wind farms. They can provide forest owners and investors with significant additional revenue, subject to planning, infrastructure and topographical constraints. Fountains Forestry has helped many of its clients exploit this potential, to increase their forest revenue and to enhance the value of their forestry assets.

The flexibility of design of individual turbine components means that machines can be matched to areas with high, medium or low average wind speeds, from mountain tops to locations out to sea.

Within the design parameters necessary for conditions at any individual site, the size of turbine required will depend on the type of application.

Our Services

Fountains Forestry offers advice to our clients on how to fully exploit the renewable energy resource within their existing or potential forestry investments. This advice includes:

• Valuations of forestry assets to include estimated income from wind farm or hydro projects
• Arranging ‘screening and feasibility studies’ with our technical partners to assess the viability of wind farm or hydro developments
• Arranging grid connection and planning consultation studies
• Introducing potential wind farm or hydro developers and providing commercial and legal assistance in establishing commercial agreements with those developers
• Advising existing forest owners regarding ‘crop compensation’ when trees have to be felled to accommodate a wind farm.
• Guidance on design issues, including wind throw risk turbine locations, road alignment, interpretation of forest data and other technical issues
• Supporting public consultation activities, e.g. providing material for and attending public exhibition
• Consultation with the Forestry Commission, conservation bodies and other stakeholders on forestry aspects

If you have an interest in maximising the potential of your land with renewable energy sources, please call us on 01295 750000 to see how we can help.