Only 19 of the 26 wind turbines on Romney Marsh are turning.

A power fault has rendered seven of the gigantic blades immobile at the Little Cheyne Court wind farm - a month after it was opened amid much fanfare by energy secretary Ed Milliband.

According to RWE Npower Renewables, the £60m project aims to generate clean electricity equivalent to the annual electricity demand of three quarters of the homes in the Shepway district council area.

Claire Smith, spokesman for RWE Npower Renewables said: “There have been technical problems with some of the transformers.

“The problems with the transformers are not pertinent to wind turbine technology but associated with the high voltage circuit.

“The transformers are located at bottom of the turbines and seven have had to be removed and returned to Belgium.

“The turbines are designed so that the transformers can be removed and replaced if necessary. Small cranes were used to hoist the transformers onto trucks which took them off site.”

She added: “Replacement transformers are being delivered in mid-September and the site should be fully operational by mid-October.
“No blades were removed during this work.

“The remaining 19 turbines are operating normally and generating clean electricity.”