Wind turbine at Green Britain Centre powers ahead
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The wind turbine at the Green Britain Centre is approaching its 14th year near Swaffham and has so far produced enough green electricity to brew over 2 billion cups of tea or keep an iPad going for over three and a half million years.
It’s no ordinary turbine either – it is the only one in the world with a publicly accessible viewing platform, 67 metres up and offering 360 degree views of the Norfolk countryside.
The viewing platform was also designed by Sir Norman Foster, architect of the Gherkin and New Wembley Stadium in London.
The turbine is one of the big attractions at the newly opened Green Britain Centre: the centre has evolved from the popular EcoTech Centre, which attracted over a quarter of a million visitors since opening in 1999.
Alex Fuller, Business Development Manager at the Green Britain Centre, said: “The wind turbine is a huge draw for visitors coming to the Green Britain Centre. Not only is it an enthralling experience to climb up the windmill, but these figures show that it’s a very successful generating turbine as well, creating a significant amount of clean green electricity. We have seen well over 150,000 visitors climb to the summit of the turbine so far, and we are looking forward to many more visitors thanks to the launch of the Green Britain Centre here.”
The turbine – installed in August 1999 – has so far produced over 43 million units (kWh) since construction: that’s enough to drive an electric car (Nissan LEAF) around the equator over six thousand times or power a light bulb for over 400,000 years.
The Green Britain Centre, an initiative owned and run by green energy company Ecotricity, offers tours for schools as well as conferencing facilities, and more.
Other attractions at the Green Britain Centre include:
the Greenbird, the world’s fastest wind powered vehicle
one of Britain’s largest solar trackers
a wind turbine blade famously reported to have been detached by a ‘UFO’
heirloom orchard and organic gardens
a Café, serving delicious homemade local and organic vegetarian food
Visitors can check out www.greenbritaincentre.co.uk/whats-on or call 01760 726100 for more details.
Vital Statistics of the Green Britain Centre wind turbine:
Site address: The Green Britain Centre, Swaffham
Running Since: August 1999
Number of turbines: 1
Rotor diameter: 66m
Hub height: 67m
Capacity: 1.5MW
About Ecotricity
Britain’s first green energy company, Ecotricity was founded in 1996 with a single windmill and went on to create the green electricity market. Now powering over 70,000 homes and businesses from 55 windmills and a solar-farm, Ecotricity is a ‘not-for-dividend’ enterprise that on average invests more per customer in building new sources of green electricity than any other energy company in Britain.
For more information, please contact:
press.office@ecotricity.co.uk or (01453) 761318
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