Prairie Field Development Project

At Octopus Energy Generation, we’re on a mission to build green power for the future. We’re supercharging the green energy revolution with initiatives like the Octopus Fan Club, Plots for Kilowatts, and The Collective. These projects are all about more localised, people-powered wind energy.

Together, we’re making clean, green energy happen faster than ever before.

Plots for Kilowatts

Plots for Kilowatts got hundreds of enthusiastic landowners excited about hosting a turbine on their land, helping them diversify their incomes and create new revenue streams. This initiative also brings awesome benefits to local communities through our Octopus Fan Club.

Know anyone who’d love to host a turbine? Apply to Plots for Kilowatts here!

Check out our latest development at Prairie Field, a fantastic onshore wind project brought to life thanks to Plots for Kilowatts!

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Project Overview

At Octopus Energy Generation, we're busy preparing a planning application to develop a single wind turbine on Prairie Field, Stradbroke.

But we can’t do it without you! We’re inviting everyone to share their thoughts on our development proposal. Join us for an in-person public consultation at Stradbroke Community Centre on Wednesday October 16th, from 10am-7pm. We’d love to hear your feedback and chat about the project!

Once we have hopefully secured planning permission and the new turbine is up and running on the national grid, it could tap into some of our awesome customer perks. For example, it could become one of our Octopus Fan Clubs - more info on this below!

On top of this, we’re planning to offer a community benefit fund of £5,000 a year for the life of the project. We’re still figuring out the best way to make this happen locally, so stay tuned for more details!

On 25th July 2019, the Local Authority declared a Climate Emergency, highlighting the urgent need for sustainable solutions. Stradbroke, with its unique electricity setup, occasionally faces partial blackouts, making energy reliability a top concern. Installing the turbine isn’t just about generating green energy—it’s about empowering Stradbroke to become a more resilient, self-sufficient community and helping the village thrive sustainably.

Project Specifics

Location Prairie Field, Stradbroke

We’ve found the perfect spot at Prairie Field, Stradbroke. With wind speeds of 6.5 m/s at 59 meters, it’s ideal for generating clean energy. It’s more than 500 meters from any homes & has a feasible grid connection. For a closer look at the location, check out our download files.

Turbine EWT DirectWind 61

The wind turbine we plan to put on site is an EWT DirectWind 61 model. This efficient wind turbine features a 61-meter rotor diameter and a 59-meter hub height, with blade tips reaching up to 90 meters. It’s designed to generate up to 1MW of clean energy, enough to power around 800 homes. It’s another step toward delivering greener and cheaper energy to you!

Take a virtual site visit...

Why Prairie?

Prairie stood out to us for several key reasons:

  1. Distance from homes: The nearest dwelling is 500m away, ensuring minimal impact on the local community.
  2. Away from busy areas: It's tucked away from major infrastructure and roads, making it a discreet and ideal location for a turbine.
  3. Strong wind speeds: With wind speeds of approximately 6.5/s at hub height (59m), Prairie is perfect for harnessing consistent wind energy.
  4. Existing infrastructure: Stradbroke has a unique energy feed, the development could assist in making Stradbroke a more energy-resilient community.
  5. Community support: We've seen a significant number of Fan Club sign ups from local residents who are keen to support the switch away from fossil fuels & would like to have an Octopus Fan Club in their area.

Prairie Field ticks all the boxes for both performance and local support, making it the ideal choice for our next wind project.

The Octopus Fan Club

Customers living close to one of our Fan Club turbines can sign up to receive discounts on their electricity bill.

Using their own personal dashboard and forecast notifications, members can monitor their local Fan and shift their energy consumption to the times when it’s cheapest and greenest.

Community support is vital when it comes to the development of onshore wind projects. Add yourself to our Fan Club waiting list today and be the first to know when we launch a Fan Club in your area!

Be a part of the green energy transition and help us to move towards a cheaper and greener future.

Here's what our current Octopus Fan Club members have to say...

At first, I was sceptical about the savings I could make. I was staggered when the savings were credited to my account. I now keep my eye on the fan club regularly and try to use my washer and dryer.

I'm really impressed with Octopus and how they are helping our local community save money . It has helped me feel closer to the turbine and understand how they work.

I think the Fan Club is a brilliant idea. Not only does it make me think about how and when I use energy but it is also helping in the battle with climate change and saving me money as well, win win all round.

Considerations

At Octopus Energy Generation, we’re busy preparing our planning application with help from a fantastic team of expert consultants. We'll be investigating ecology & biodiversity, landscape & visual, heritage, transport, noise, radar & telecommunications and flood risk & drainage. We're diving deep into these detailed technical surveys and assessments to ensure our application is top-notch. Please see our download files for any completed assessments.

Noise

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Our ongoing noise assessment follows strict guidelines to ensure we’re looking out for you and your neighbours near the proposed turbine site. We're all about keeping noise levels in check during both construction and operation, so you can enjoy the benefits without the bother.

We're investigating how much noise the proposed wind turbine in Stradbroke might make for nearby homes and other sensitive areas. We are surveying current noise levels in the area and measuring how the turbine might sound at different wind speeds.

The data is still being collected and analysed, and will be published here as soon as we have it!

Lanscape & Visual

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We are carrying out a comprehensive Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment (LVIA). This vital assessment ensures the project harmonises with the local landscape and minimises any visual impact on the surrounding area.

The assessment involves a mix of detailed desk-based research and on-site visits to identify key viewpoints where the turbine might be visible, in the context of the local and national landscape. We're committed to making sure the turbine’s design and positioning blend as seamlessly as possible into the landscape.

An initial Zone of Theoretical Visibility (ZTV) analysis was conducted to estimate where the turbine could be seen. While the turbine might be visible from certain spots, natural barriers like trees and hills will significantly limit actual sightlines in many cases.

We’ve created wireframe models and photomontages to show what the turbine will look like from key locations, giving a clear and realistic idea of how it will fit into the landscape. This helps ensure everyone can see exactly how the project will look and feel before it’s built.

As part of the planning process, the LVIA will be submitted, detailing our findings and any mitigation strategies to minimise visual impact. We’ll also be sharing these results with local stakeholders, offering the public a chance to provide feedback through the consultation phase.

Check out our download files for the Zone of Theoretical Visibility (ZTV), LVIA mapping, and photomontages!

LVIA Mapping & Zone of Theoretical Visibility

Ecology & Biodiversity

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Initial results show the site is low risk for ecological impacts.

We have more assessments scheduled to monitor bird, and bats and habitat to make sure everything's in tip-top shape. And the best part? We're committed to ensuring at least a 10% biodiversity net gain for the project!

Radar & Telecommunications

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We're diving into important surveys around Radar and Telecommunications to make sure everything's running smoothly. As part of this, we’re also conducting Aviation Impact Assessments, and we’re working closely with the Ministry of Defence (MOD) to get it all right.

Here’s what’s in the mix:

  • Norwich PSR
  • Horham Airfield
  • Wattisham PAR
  • Honington PSR
  • RRH Neatishead
  • Military Low Flying Zone

Stay tuned! We'll be sharing the full scope of the study, what we find, and any recommendations we’ve got to make things even better right here!

Heritage

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We will be prepping a Heritage Impact Assessment to look at the significance of historic buildings, complexes, areas, monuments, or archaeological sites (heritage assets). This assessment will check out how the proposed wind turbine might affect these heritage assets and their surroundings. We'll be sharing the findings of the Heritage Impact Assessment with you right here soon!

Shadow Flicker

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We will conduct a Shadow Flicker Assessment to check out the flickering effect caused by wind turbine blades casting shadows over neighboring properties through windows and other openings. Depending on the results, we might need to install a Shadow Flicker Prevention (SFP) System on the wind turbine to make sure no properties in the area experience unacceptable shadow flicker. We’ve got you covered!

Our first look shows that five households fall within the Potential Shadow Flicker Zone, even though some are slightly south of the turbine. The good news? The flicker effect on these homes should be minimal, thanks to the distance, natural barriers like trees, and the landscape itself. But we're not stopping there— we'll dive deeper into this and, if needed, put measures in place to keep everyone comfortable and happy.

Transport

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Great news! Our transport consultants and turbine manufacturers have confirmed that getting the turbine to the Prairie Field site is totally doable. We're just ironing out the logistics now. As soon as everything’s sorted, we’ll share the full report with you right here!

Flood Risk & Drainage

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Information on flood risk and drainage assessments will be visible here.

Feedback

We’d love to hear your thoughts on our Prairie Field Development Project! If you can’t make it to our public consultation event on October 16th at Stradbroke Community Centre, no worries! You can still share your feedback with us online until 16/11/24.

For those joining us in person, feel free to share your thoughts on the day—we’re all ears!

Thanks for being a part of this journey with us! 💚

The feedback for our Prairie Field Development Project is now closed - thank you to all who submitted feedback.

Meet your Project Manager

Robyn

"I'm Robyn and I work within Octopus Energy Generation's Innovation & Development team as a Project Specialist. Originally from East Yorkshire, the proud home of our first Octopus Fan Club turbine, I am now based in London hoping to share the benefits of local wind energy generation within more communities across the UK. The newly lifted de facto ban has made our mission a possibility and i'm excited to contribute to the country's renewable future!"

If you have any questions at all about the project, please contact Robyn and the development team via prairiefieldwindturbine@octopusenergygeneration.com.

Planning Application

Octopus Energy Generation is gearing up to submit a planning application soon and our excellent Development team will be leading the charge.

Want to stay in the loop with project updates? Just fill out our feedback form and drop your email address in. We’ll be sure to ping you when there’s fresh news or updates on the site.

If you'd like to reach out to the development team with more general queries, you can reach them via development@octopusenergygeneration.com.

Download Files

Leaflet

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Poster

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Proximity Map

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Development Map

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LVIA Viewpoint 1

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LVIA Viewpoint 2

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LVIA Viewpoint 3

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LVIA Viewpoint 4

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LVIA Viewpoint 5

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LVIA Viewpoint 6

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LVIA Viewpoint 7

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LVIA Viewpoint 8

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LVIA Viewpoint 9

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LVIA Viewpoint 10

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LVIA Viewpoint 11

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LVIA Viewpoint 12

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LVIA Viewpoint 13

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Hey I'm Constantine, welcome to Octopus Energy!

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