Seaforth Wind Farm

Liverpool

The development of an initial cluster of six wind turbines with a second phase of five turbines, each extending to 130m in height.

Location: Port of Liverpool
Status: The scheme and extension have both been implemented
Size: Six turbines producing 3.6MW of electricity and a further five
turbines producing a total of 15MW of electricity
Scale: City

The site comprises the busy commercial port of Liverpool dominated by stevedores and other large structures associated with the port operation extending into the heart of Liverpool city centre; part of the port is within the world heritage site; and there are a number of listed buildings and structures. The Mersey estuary has a number of designations for its ecological value to wading birds.

The first phase was one of the early wind farm developments in the country. There was significant local opposition to the scheme relating to visual impact initial concerns from RSPB regarding the potential for 'bird strike' fatalities were overcome through repositioning one of the turbines.

The second phase of development proposed significantly larger turbines on a more sensitive part of the dock estate adjacent to the World Heritage Site. We co-ordinated the preparation of the environmental statement and led successful negotiations with the City Council regarding visual impact.

The second phase also raised issues of potential impact on airport radar. We successfully led negotiations with the airport operators to ensure that the impact on airport radar was minimised all of the turbines have now been erected creating a striking feature on the Liverpool Waterfront.