Delabole wind farm

The Delabole wind farm was the first commercial onshore wind farm built in the United Kingdom, in November 1991. This field of wind turbines was initially developed by Windelectric Management Ltd.LocationDelabole is located in the southwest region of Cornwall, United Kingdom, about two miles west of Camelford. It has the third highest elevation of the villages in Cornwall sitting at 800 feet making it an ideal place for turbines. The farm is pastoral land, one mile away from the village of Delabole and 2.5 miles away from the Celtic Sea. The country itself is the windiest of Europe receiving over 40% of the continent's wind annually.HistoryThe farm was first proposed by landowners Peter and Martin Edwards in 1989, and was opened in 1991. They chose to invest in the turbines, instead of a nuclear power plant, in the hope of pushing the UK in a greener direction. It took three months of construction to build the site and less than a month to commission the turbines. In its first year, the Delabole wind farm brought in 100,000 visitors who were able to look around the turbines freely on tourist walks.Gaia Energy CentreIn 2001, there was an attempt to attract 150,000 tourists annually to this wind farm by building the Gaia Energy Centre. It was supposed to promote and educate the people of Cornwall about energy conservation and the benefits of renewable energy. Inside they had an auditorium, café and shop, as well as interactive exhibits and a resource library. Most of the funding for the £5 million Gaia Energy Centre came from Europe, with £300,000 grants from Objective One and the South West Regional Development Agency. It closed down just three years after opening since less than a tenth of the projected visitors actually came.