Prior to the building of the wind farm, Burton had never had any electricity generating capacity. The town had various types of natural water supply (streams, wells and springs). For a while it had its own sewerage system and gas works, but mains electricity had to be brought in from Kettering.

The electricity works in Kettering was located at the beginning of Rockingham Road, on the left-hand side where the Sainsbury's store now stands. In the early years of the last century, electricty was purchased, first by the Parish Council, then by the Burton Latimer Urban District Council, from the company which operated on this site. Electricity would have been brought by cable into Burton, but it has not yet been established whether this was underground or suspended from poles such as telegraph poles.