Calderdale Energy Park

Calderdale Wind Farm Limited is proposing a 34-turbine windfarm – Calderdale Energy Park – on Walshaw Moor, in Calderdale. 

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust fully supports the right sustainable energy located in the right place to help the country meet its net zero targets. 

Walshaw Moor has formal and legal protections for its irreplaceable blanket bog habitat and the rare and the Threatened species that call this rich and ancient peatland home.  It is part of the South Pennine Moors SAC, South Pennine Moors Phase 2 SPA, and South Pennine Moors SSSI which supports habitats and species of both international and national importance.

A wind farm at this scale represents a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP), proposed on an incredibly sensitive site.

Areas of Walshaw Moor have peat that is three metres deep, locking up carbon taken in by plants up to 6,000 years ago, through the industrial revolution and to this day. 
The peat mitigates climate change and flood risk preserving millennia of human and environmental history as well as being home to amazing wildlife.  

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s view on Calderdale Energy Park

We are very concerned about this development and are closely following and will continue to respond to the consultations through the formal channels. 

Most of Yorkshire's uplands are protected for nature and their beauty, and any development on deep peat and within designated sites sets an alarming precedent. 

On 8th April Calderdale Wind Farm Limited opened the most recent round of consultation - the Preliminary Environmental Information Report (PEIR). We are currently reviewing all the documentation that has been published by the developer and will publish our informed and evidence-led response as soon as we can.      
Yorkshire Wildlife Trust maintains a strong objection to the principle of the proposed development on Walshaw Moor. 

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and renewable energy 

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust engage positively with the development of renewable energy to ensure a positive outcomes for nature. Our involvement in specific cases has already reduced impact on habitats and larger compensation areas for wildlife incorporated into the design, or acquired through funding. 

We are always keen to engage with developers for renewable energy schemes, as we acknowledge the urgent threat posed by climate change and support the UK’s goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050.