Support This Demonstration

Press release by: Windfarm Action Group

www.windfarmaction.com

To publicise the planned demonstration on 22^nd October at 12.30pm at Eden Court Theatre Inverness to show the Scottish National Party the strength of public feeling against windfarm development.

For information on the demonstration please contact Lyndsey Ward on 01463 782997 or 07899 035135

For information on the technical content of this press release please contact Stuart Young on 01847 851813 or 07717 295235

PRESS RELEASE

QUESTION: Why demonstrate?

ANSWER: Because nobody is listening!

1. People are becoming aware that wind energy is already costly and this cost will grow as more and more turbines are constructed. This affects every single person in the land whether they can afford it or not. The cost of the Renewables Obligation which is funded through consumer’s electricity bills is an even more universal burden than Maggie Thatcher’s Poll Tax.

2. The Renewables Obligation puts about 5.5p on to the bill for a unit of wind generated electricity before the cost of the actual electricity is added, and before adding the cost of major transmission upgrades which are necessary to allow the use of wind generation. The Beauly to Denny transmission upgrade is currently estimated to cost £600M (an almost 100% increase and it has only just started) and the cost of all the other transmission upgrades needed to take our surplus wind generation across the Scotland-England Border and beyond to undefined markets in England or continental Europe has yet to be calculated. And there is no guarantee that England or Europe will need or want our surplus power when it is windy here.

3. Wind energy is the only energy source which can be completely absent at any point in time in the future and we have no control over it. At midday on 14^th September, the 3696MW installed wind capacity which National Grid meters ( 2327MW Scottish onshore, 90MW Scottish offshore, 1279MW English offshore) was generating 2102MW. At midday on 15^th September, the same 3696MW was generating 23MW, effectively zero. If any other fuel was delivered so sporadically, we would go to war to protect our supplies.

4. Thirteen Scottish wind farms have so far been paid compensation of just under £9.5M to stop generating when wind was high and demand was low because there was no available market for it. £5M was paid in September alone. The £9.5M was paid in compensation for actual losses of £2.4M, such was the bargaining power of the wind generators. These costs, and the inevitably greater future costs, will filter through to our electricity bills.

5. There is now no Legislation or Planning Guidance which specifically protects a person’s residential amenity. Whole communities have lived for years under the threat of wind farm development and seen the robust Planning Protections which once existed to support them being eroded to the point that now bats and geese have more worth than people.

6. Most wind farms that have been consented have applied for an extension, and the general planning view is that if a place is already trashed, then a bit more trashing will be neither here nor there. And the misery starts all over again. Only the Scottish Government can restore the wellbeing of Scotland’s people to its rightful place in the Planning Hierarchy

7. Five and a half million homes are now estimated to be in fuel poverty. Our Governments can do little about the base cost of fuel, but to ease the burden, Westminster can abolish the Renewables Obligation and Holyrood can abandon its “ambitious” targets for generation by Renewables (which, and it is doubtful if they are remotely achievable, would be delivered mostly by windpower ).

QUESTION: In the face of the above, should we continue to allow the devastation wind farm development has on communities, people’s lives and their health, their shrinking finances, the environment and wildlife, or should we pause, reflect, and think again.

ANSWER: Pause, Reflect, and Think Again

The poverty of Britain's energy debate

Fraser Nelson

A must read:
http://www.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/7318578/the-poverty-of-britains-energy-debate.thtml

Here is how it starts:

"How big does Shale have to get before our policymakers wake up to its implications? There is an Energy Summit in No.10 today where Chris Huhne wants to focus on the need “to help consumers save money on their gas and electricity bills”. A preview interview on the Today programme underlined the dire situation. First, Huhne was not asked about how his own green regulations have massively contributed to the problem. Then, the managing director of British Gas was invited on to say that “unless someone discovers huge amounts of gas and imports it into the UK…”. And, bafflingly, no-one mentioned the small fact that one of BG’s rivals recently discovered 200 trillion cubic feet of gas near Blackpool. As Matt Ridley says in this week’s Spectator, that’s enough to keep the entire British economy going for many decades. And it doesn’t even need importing."

Do read the article, including the quotes from Matt Ridley's article as well.



It isn't just our policy makers, though, what about the BBC? On Friday they had Will Self "In praise of wind turbines" on Sunday Countryfile, which was about as biased as it could possibly be in favour of wind, and the Today Programme was no better.

Single turbines

First there were 22 turbines at Fullabrook, now there will be two more close by, which makes 24 in the area.

http://www.thisisnorthdevon.co.uk/Wind-turbines-ahead-despite-widespread-protest/story-13545925-detail/story.html


http://www.cpredevon.org.uk/details/mullacott-cross-inductrial-estate-54m.html


http://www.cpredevon.org.uk/details/79.6m-single-wind-turbine.html

Paul Bloomer

We are pleased to announce a new page on the Artists Against Wind Farms website.
Paul Bloomer is an artist who lives in the Shetlands, and on his page you can see his Windfarm Series of woodcuts and read the words he has written to express his feelings about the 127 giant wind turbines that threaten to destroy the beauty and tranquility of the island on which he lives.
There are also links to an Exhibition at the Vaila Fine Art Gallery, in Lerwick, where his work was on show with work by a number of other artists who shared his feelings about the proposed wind farm.
This is his page:
http://www.artistsagainstwindfarms.com/scotland/paul-bloomer.html

Living in a Power Station

Video highlighting the problems caused when Wind Power Plants are constructed to close to residential homes.
This video was found originally on http://its-in-the-wind.blogspot.com/

It was made by David Baldwin, who lives approximately 950 metres away from the nearest turbine at Hadyard Hill (Ayrshire).
He had been in favour of the wind turbines before the wind farm was built and he experienced the noise and shadow flicker.

National Trust Petition

Please sign the National Trust petition, before October 12th, if you are concerned about the proposed changes to the planning system.

https://www.planningforpeople.org.uk/

Properties reducing in value

Ontario wind power bringing down property values

By John Nicol and Dave Seglins, CBC News.

Here is an excerpt about the Power Company buying up properties and then selling them on at a loss:

"Canadian Hydro Developers bought out four different owners for $500,000, $350,000, $305,000 and $302,670. The company then resold each property, respectively, for $288,400, $175,000, $278,000 and $215,000.

In total, Canadian Hydro absorbed just over half a million dollars in losses on those four properties.

The new buyers were required to sign agreements acknowledging that the wind turbine facilities may affect the buyer’s “living environment” and that the power company will not be responsible for or liable from any of the buyer’s “complaints, claims, demands, suits, actions or causes of action of every kind known or unknown which may arise directly or indirectly from the Transferee’s wind turbine facilities.”"

We found the link to this article on www.wind-watch.org