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Tuesday, 9th February 2010

Villagers say no to wind turbines

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Published Date: 04 July 2008
By Paul Clark
PROTESTERS picketed a power company promoting its plan to build six wind turbines at Sempringham Fen this week.
Members of AGAST (Action Group Against Sempringham Turbines) outlined their opposition to a wind farm outside Billingborough and Pointon village halls where Scottish Power Renewables held information days on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Both sides claimed to have won the support of residents but Agast members now hope a letter writing campaign will block the scheme at the official planning stage.

Gwen Oakes said: "Eighty per cent of turnout has been against it and every household should send a letter to the planning authority raising their objections."

Mrs Oakes fears the value of property in the area will plummet.

She said: "I have worked for 45 years to get a house that we wanted to stay in. There will be a drop in value because of the turbines."

Linda Pritchett added: "They would be better spending the money on solar panels and ways to save energy."

The wind farm would be visible from villages as far away as Morton and Dyke and the visual impact of wind turbines is a major factor for protesters.

The maximum height of turbines is 125 metres and the wind farm site would cover 114 hectares including a sub-station.

Each turbine is expected to generate up to 2.3 megawatts and the wind farm would have a lifespan of 20-30 years

John Bryant, who has farmed for 40 years near the site, said: "I am for state-of-the-art atomic power. It is reliable and there are no carbon emissions."

Scottish Power expects to submit its planning application to South Kesteven District Council in September and defended the £16million scheme, saying it would provide clean, green energy for 24,000 homes.

A spokesman for the firm said: "There are a lot of myths about wind farms. All our turbines are tested and meet standards set by local authorities and governments.

"Many people find power stations an eyesore but accept wind turbines."

Opponents laid out a mock turbine (of the same measurements as those planned by Scottish Power) covering almost the entire playing field at Pointon.

A summary of the Environmental Impact Assessment is available at Bourne Library.
More information is available from: www.agast.co.uk and www.scottishpower.com

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  • Last Updated: 04 July 2008 11:58 AM
  • Source: The Local
  • Location: Bourne
 
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Red Kite,

Pointon 04/07/2008 16:53:51
Fortunately in this country we do still have the right to express our opinions and object if we do not believe the right thing is being done. The whole renewable energy debate is extremely complex and is one in which one expert is pitted against another. All the so called strict guidlines to which the developers refer to and hide behind have all been created by individuals who were either at the time working in the wind industry or who are now working on behalf of developers! I wonder just where the balance of favour really lies and how much residents are really protected? In particular the guidline which is supposed to protect residents against noise pollution (ETSU-R-97) was put together over 10 years ago when turbines were 30-40m high. Turbines are now +120m high and the regulations have NEVER been reviewed. This is not what I call protection. We do not have to look a million miles away to Deeping St Nicholas to see the plight of one family who have had to suffer the consequences. The wind industry seem to be quite happy and have been reported as saying that they think its acceptable that some should be sacrificed for the greater good!

ANY community who is told (not asked) to host a wind farm absolutely should question whether it is right or not. 25 years (1/4 century) is a long time and there are a host of issues which residents need to better understand. In this case the wind farm Scottish Power is proposing is inappropriately and insensitively positioned very close to residential properties. Many families face not only losing the value of their homes (without any recompense) but also the ability to enjoy the amenity of their homes. This unique landscape will be damaged and will disappear forever. No wind farm developer can guarantee that there will not be a noise issue. In addition to this the most difinitive research into health issues associated with living in close proximity to turbines (wind turbine syndrome) will be published in August by N
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Zeuss,

Sempringham Fen 04/07/2008 21:23:50
Whilst appreciating the need to explore alternative energy solutions (particularly renewable energy resources) I feel strongly that this should not be done at the expense of the quality of life of others. The proposed wind turbines at Neslam Farm will be within 1 km of a number of households, leading to concerns about disturbance to daily life from increased noise levels and the possibility of health issues caused by low frequency sound emissions. Those in power have a moral and legal duty to protect the health and wellbeing of the citizens of this country -hence the concerns regarding passive smoking, blue asbestos and lead in paint (to site but three instances where subsequent research has identified hazards to health). Further research is required to establish whether there is a causal link between the proximity of wind turbines and health issues within the surrounding community before it can be established whether these are indeed as 'safe' as the industry and the government would have us believe. Until that research is available to inform future planning decisions it is imperative that wind turbines are only located in remote and unpopulated areas, where the risks to health and quality of life for the citizens of this country are not at risk.
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Fen folk,

Dunsby 04/07/2008 21:58:53
As an objector to wind power, I was asked at the Billingborough information day "What's the alternative". This question implies a simple acceptance of the government's policy that the UK needs to generate renewable energy to save us all from death by climate change.

My answer should really be another question "How do you think wind power will help?" If we look at the issue of climate change, it either is or isn't happening depending on whichever newspaper you read. Let's suppose it is happening, so we must reduce our CO2 emissions. The wind power industry have been selling wind farms to us by exaggerating the amount of CO2 emissions they save. They have craftily assumed in their calculations that wind will replace only coal fired generation, while the reality is the UK generating capacity is a mix of coal (high CO2), gas (low CO2)and nuclear (no CO2). So wind power will save much less emissions (about 2 fifths) than they are given credit for.

Not only that but wind farms famously need back-up generation to provide electricity on the days when there is no wind. Yes, I know there was a display at the information day disclaiming this fact, but I would rather trust the opinions of the Royal Academy of Engineering than the wind industry when I'm searching for the truth (after all the RAE don't stand to make millions out of wind power). The RAE have warned the government that the cost of back up generation, required solely because of the installation of wind turbines, will cost the country billions - as you will see when your bill shoots up year on year to pay for it. And this back-up may well produce CO2 (unless it's nuclear, which is unlikely), so we will be producing CO2 to, erm, save CO2?

Not convinced? Well, lets talk about money instead then. The Government, in their wisdom, have announced their intention to build thousands more wind turbines. Why? because they will be in serious trouble with Brussels if they don't show a reduction in CO2 emm
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Fen folk,

Dunsby 07/07/2008 12:43:03
(continued!) The Government, in their wisdom, have announced their intention to build thousands more wind turbines. Why? because they will be in serious trouble with Brussels if they don't show a reduction in CO2 emissions by 2020. They know it won't actually achieve a reduction (see my first post), but they have no idea what else to do. The proposed expansion of wind turbines is to be funded to the tune of £100 billion - all of which must be paid for by the taxpayer (i.e. us - and this is in addition to the cost of back-up as previously described).

Now, if I were looking for something to invest in, most markets seem to be very dodgy at the moment, so I would invest in wind power since the Government are pumping in all that money and are making damn sure that the industry grows (to the extent that they are even trying to change the planning laws!).

It might even be worth speculating that the people in Government who are pushing this proposal forward are investing in windpower themselves. A pity they are giving scant regard to the energy crisis this country will be in when a fifth of our power comes from unreliable wind (if it blows at the right speed!), our gas and oil are controlled by overseas power barons, we haven't been able to afford to build any new nuclear power stations (because we've spent the money on safe, green wind) and coal is demonised by Brussels.

I think we will be 'looking back' to the future!



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