UK Coal fired up to bring clean energy out of the collieries

Terry Macalister

The Guardian, Friday November 14 2008

More than a dozen of the UK's former coal mining sites are to be redeveloped as wind farms under a scheme to turn old energy into new.
UK Coal, once the main part of the National Coal Board, has announced a joint venture with Peel Energy that would see 14 former colliery locations used to erect 54 turbines generating up to 133 megawatts of electricity per hour, enough to power 80,000 homes.
Shares in UK Coal raced forward 10% in early trading yesterday as the City welcomed the initiative but later fell back along with the rest of the market.
"We believe there is significant opportunity to develop wind farms on parts of our land portfolio," said Jon Lloyd, the chief executive of UK Coal.
"By allying with Peel Energy, we are joining forces with one of the UK's most active and knowledgeable wind power companies."
The company, which has already moved into renewables through the harnessing of methane gas for power, said that it hoped to have submissions for planning permission for some of the 14 sites ready within three months.
Peel Energy already boasts an onshore wind portfolio in excess of 450MW and is involved in England's largest scheme, at Scout Moor in Lancashire, with 26 turbines. The company, whose parent group owns a large stake in UK Coal and operates ports around Britain, is developing Royal Seaforth Dock wind farm in Liverpool and has submitted a planning application for the Port of Sheerness wind farm.
Peel and UK Coal intend to create special-purpose vehicles owned 50/50 between them to develop former colliery sites for wind schemes. The coal mining group could grant the joint venture an option for a 30-year lease on the land.
"This agreement [with UK Coal] is an important step forward for Peel Energy significantly expanding its onshore pipeline and gaining access to some of the UK's best wind farm locations," said Steven Underwood, director of Peel Energy.
Chris Millington, an analyst at the stockbroker Numis Securities, described the deal as "pretty good", saying Peel would bring expertise and capital to UK Coal's innovative wind farm activities.
UK Coal owns 46,500 acres of land and has identified more than 3,500 of it for new development. It still operates six active surface mines, with an annual output in excess of 1.5 million tonnes.