REG WindPower is a renewable energy company, in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. REG Windpower is one of the UK’s leading developers and operators of small to medium-sized

wind farms Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few h ...

, operating nine sites in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

and one in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, with a combined operational capacity of 41.15 MW. The ultimate parent company Renewable Energy Generation Limited, registered in Jersey, was put into liquidation in January 2016.

Wind farms owned and operated by REG

Its nine operational wind farms are: * Braich Ddu, Glan-yr-afon,

Gwynedd Gwynedd (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the North West Wales, north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County B ...

; *

Goonhilly Downs Goonhilly Satellite Earth Station is a large radiocommunication site located on Goonhilly Downs near Helston on the Lizard peninsula in Cornwall, England. Owned by Goonhilly Earth Station Ltd under a 999-year lease from BT Group plc, it ...

the Lizard The Lizard ( kw, An Lysardh) is a peninsula in southern Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The most southerly point of the British mainland is near Lizard Point at SW 701115; Lizard village, also known as The Lizard, is the most souther ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlan ...

; * High Haswell, Easington, County Durham; * High Pow,

Wigton Wigton is a market town in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland, it lies just outside the Lake District in the borough of Allerdale. Wigton is at the centre of the Solway Plain, between the Caldbeck Fells a ...

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. ...

; * High Sharpley, County Durham; * Loscar, Harthill,

Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...

; * Ramsey,

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

; * Roskrow Barton, Penryn,

; * St Breock,

; *

Whittlesey Whittlesey (also Whittlesea) is a market town and civil parish in the Fenland district of Cambridgeshire, England. Whittlesey is east of Peterborough. The population of the parish was 16,058 at the 2011 Census. History and architecture W ...

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

Company history

REG Windpower was founded as the Cornwall Light and Power Company in 1989, and changed its name to REG Windpower in 2010. REG Windpower is owned by Renewable Energy Generation Ltd. REG Ltd is listed on the

London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pa ...

Alternative Investment Market (AIM). As well developing, building and operating wind farms, the group also generates renewable energy from used cooking oil through its subsidiary company REG Bio-Power.

Financial Results

In March 2011, REG reported pre-tax losses, which the company blamed on unusually low wind levels in the preceding year. Financial Year 2012 - pre-tax loss of £2,313,731 Financial Year 2013 - pre-tax loss of £4,683,136 Financial Year 2014 - pre-tax loss of £4,838,896 Financial Year 2015 - pre-tax loss of £17,678,599

Proposed new wind farms

In October 2011, REG Windpower launched public consultation on several new wind farms in England. If completed, these projects will have a combined installed capacity of almost 50 MW. The projects are: * Bank House Farm,

Croft Croft may refer to: Occupations * Croft (land), a small area of land, often with a crofter's dwelling * Crofting, small-scale food production * Bleachfield, an open space used for the bleaching of fabric, also called a croft Locations In the Uni ...

North East Lincolnshire North East Lincolnshire is a Unitary authority area with borough status in Lincolnshire, England. It borders the borough of North Lincolnshire and districts of West Lindsey and East Lindsey. The population of the district in the 2011 Census was ...

; * French Farm Extension, Thorney,

; * Grange Farm,

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershir ...

; * M48,

South Gloucestershire South Gloucestershire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, South West England. Towns in the area include Yate, Chipping Sodbury, Thornbury, Filton, Patchway and Bradley Stoke, the latter three forming par ...

; * Mendennick,

; * St Breock Repower,

; * Steadfold Lane,

Ketton Ketton is a village and civil parish in Rutland in the East Midlands of England. It is about east of Oakham and west of Stamford, Lincolnshire. The 2011 Census recorded a parish population of 1,926, making it the fourth largest settlement in R ...

Rutland Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest l ...

. *Old River Don, Crowle,

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershir ...

*Knockshinnoch,

Rankinston Rankinston is a village in East Ayrshire, Scotland, off the B730, approximately south east of the town of Ayr. Rankinston commands a panoramic view of over north, looking over the towns of Ayr, Prestwick and Troon. During the reign of Rober ...

East Ayrshire East Ayrshire ( sco, Aest Ayrshire; gd, Siorrachd Àir an Ear) is one of thirty-two council areas of Scotland. It shares borders with Dumfries and Galloway, East Renfrewshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. The headq ...

*Langthwaite,

Millom Millom is a town and civil parish on the north shore of the estuary of the River Duddon in southwest Cumbria, historically part of Cumberland, England. It is situated just outside the Lake District National Park, about north of Barrow-in-Fur ...

Controversies

REG Windpower has attracted criticism over their selection of some of their development sites. * Old River Don wind farm - the site chosen for 6 turbines was the site of two World War II graves. A Lancaster bomber crashed in September 1945 and two Australian airmen were never found. The location of one of the turbines was to be close to where the crash site was believed to be. * Knockshinnoch Wind Farm - East Ayrshire Council Planning Committee granted consent for the site on 30 January 2015 despite an objection from West of Scotland Archaeology Service due to the existence of Carline Knowe, a prehistoric cairn sitting just a few metres from the base of the turbines. The site is located 200 metres from the edge of Dunstonhill surface mine which was abandoned following the collapse of Scottish Coal in April 2013. Many local residents were unhappy with further development in this area while Dunstonhill blighted the landscape. The site also sits just 488 metres from the nearest home despite Scottish Government Guidance recommending a minimum separation distance for this size of turbine (126.5 metres height) being 900 metres. In total 26 separate planning policies and guidance were breached however the Planning Committee overturned the advice of the Planning Department to refuse.

References