Local Democracy Reporting Service
GoogleA key supplier to car maker Nissan is exploring plans for a new wind turbine to help reduce carbon emissions.
Unipres (UK) Ltd, an automotive manufacturing company, wants to install a 492ft (150m) tip wind turbine at its Sunderland plant on Cherry Blossom Way, in Washington.
The firm, which supplies press-formed vehicle parts to the Nissan plant in Washington, said the wind turbine could generate up to 5MW.
An application to Sunderland City Council planning officials has requested a “scoping opinion” on the plans to look at environmental impacts.
Site plans show the wind turbine proposed for a parcel of land near the Unipres boundary with the Nissan plant site, which already has wind turbines.
It was noted the “energy generated would be distributed directly to the warehouse and would function to meet the energy needs of the facility”.
Applicants said the proposed development would “aim to reduce the carbon emissions from the facility” and would be “largely self-sustainable”, with any “excess energy” potentially being exported back to the national grid.
‘Employment benefits’
Following the period of operation, estimated at 25 years, the applicant is also expected to “decommission” the wind turbine “in line with best practice industry guidance”.
The supporting environmental impact scoping report adds: “The proposed development would have economic and employment benefits in the form of contracting opportunities for local and regional contractors both for construction activities themselves and throughout the supply chain.”
A decision on the screening opinion request will be made by the council following a consultation exercise, with a decision expected in coming months.