The turbine, part of a £100 million programme of investing in technology to reduce the company’s carbon footprint, will make approximately five per cent of the store’s electricity consumption.


Tesco’s Tony Fletcher said: “We are trying to advance our green agenda and as such are experimenting with wind turbines in some of our stores, but it is not suitable for all of them.


“If it’s successful, we can apply for additional turbines or different methods of reducing our carbon footprint.”


Councillors discussing the proposal at Market Rasen Town Council’s Planning and Development Committee, welcomed the plan on ecological grounds but did express concern about any noise.


The turbine will be installed in the Tesco car park alongside the railway line. Instead of the tradiitonal three bladed turbine, it will be a vertical axis machine which, says constructor TNEI, will be ‘quieter and more responsive to turbulent wind conditions.’


Standing 10.6 metres high, it will be roughly the height of a standard lamp post.