Wind turbines could be erected at schools and public buildings in a Black Country borough.
Sandwell’s skyline looks set to change forever under the plan, which council bosses say is vital to reduce the carbon footprint and cut energy costs.
Bob Badham, Sandwell Council’s cabinet member for planning and regeneration, said it is his dream to see turbines on every public building in the borough. The news comes as Bleakhouse Primary in Oldbury becomes the first in the borough to apply for permission to erect a turbine.
The school has asked for planning permission for a 33ft-tall (10m) turbine at the west corner of the school building in Bleakhouse Road.
The blades at the top of the turbine would be 1.5metres long.
Despite being hailed as environmentally friendly, there have already been objections to the plan by local people who believe the turbine would be noisy and an eyesore.
However, Councillor Badham is determined that wind power is the way forward for the borough.
He said: “The policy that we are looking at is to introduce wind turbines on as many publicly owned buildings as we can.
“We have a duty, as a local authority, to reduce our carbon footprint and ensure that our buildings are environmentally friendly.
“They will also save money as, over a period of time, we hope that generating electricity from windpower will cut our energy costs.
“Although there are no specific plans for council buildings as yet, I do see wind power as part of our future in Sandwell.”
An experimental wind turbine standing the same height as the one proposed for Bleakhouse is currently being trialled at a council depot in Oldbury.
The council sited a £5,000 Air Dolphin turbine off Taylors Lane, Oldbury, in January, and plans are in the pipeline for another elsewhere in Sandwell this summer.
Computerised monitoring equipment is currently analysing results to see how practical it would be to harness wind power on a large scale. It is believed that if successful, turbines could be expected to reduce the council’s emissions by half a ton of carbon dioxide each year.
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