Bernard Matthews Farms Ltd. (Bernard Matthews) has filed an application with Waveney District Council seeking approval to install five wind turbines at a former airfield at Holton, near Halesworth, Suffolk, UK. The construction and installation cost of the wind turbines will be will be met by a joint venture between Bernard Matthews and Climate Change Capital. The mid-grey colored wind turbines will have maximum height to tip of 100 meter.

The submission is part of the company’s scheme to power its East Anglian production plants with green energy.

In February 2009, the EDP Energias de Portugal SA has revealed the the company’s intentions for nine wind turbines at three sites. If approved, these turbines will generate about one quarter of the electricity consumed by the Bernard Matthews operation each year.

The company plans to build two turbines near its headquarters at Weston Longville, north of Norwich. The company said that this plan is still in the early stages. The company expects to submit for plans to build two close to an existing windfarm at North Pickenham in mid Norfolk in future.

If built, each turbine at Holton and Weston Longville will stand 100 m tall from the base to the tip of the blades, while the turbines at North Pickenham will match the height of its neighbors at 125 meter.

Bernard Matthews said: “Norfolk’s population is 800,000 people in some 350,000 households. Over a year the electricity used by two average households will be responsible for emitting enough CO2 to fill a hot air balloon. The equivalent of 175,000 hot air balloons full of CO2 are emitted as a result of energy consumption in Norfolk households every year. This means that every three minutes another hot air balloon of CO2 takes flight from Norfolk.

“Like many businesses Bernard Matthews has looked at the potential of its own landholdings and identified suitable sites for developing as small wind farms. Small wind farms can provide Bernard Matthews with a long term hedge against energy price fluctuations, and demonstrates our proactive attitude to the clear and emerging environmental challenges.”

The turbines will stand on the eastern half of Holton’s disused airfield between the Southerton and Westhall parishes. The turbine near to the company’s factory in Holton will be located 600 meter away with electricity being pumped into the national grid.