London, November 14:

More than a dozen of the UK’s former coal mining sites are to be re-developed as wind farms under a scheme to turn old energy into new.

UK Coal has announced a joint venture with Peel Energy that will see 14 former collieries used to erect 54 turbines generating up to 133 megawatts of electricity per hour, enough to power 80,000 homes. Shares in UK Coal raced forward 10 per cent in early trading as the stock market welcomed the initiative but later fell back.

“We believe there is a chance to develop wind farms on parts of our land portfolio,” said UK Coal chief executive Jon Lloyd.

The company has already moved into renewables through harnessing of methane gas for power. It said it hoped to have submissions for planning permission for some of the 14 sites ready within three months.

Peel Energy already boasts an onshore wind portfolio in excess of 450MW and is involved in England’s largest scheme, at Scoutmoor in Lancashire, with 26 turbines. The company, whose

parent group owns a large stake in UK Coal and operates ports around Britain, is developing Royal Seaforth Dock wind farm in Liverpool, and has submitted a planning application for the Port of Sheerness wind farm.

UK Coal owns 19,000 hectares of land and has identified more than 1,400 hectares for new development. It operates six active surface mines, with an annual output in excess of 1.5 million tonnes.