marklynas.orgThe great wind power debate 27 July 04
I don’t understand all this fuss about wind. My sister lives within a kilometre of three large wind turbines in Northumberland (see right) and has no complaints at all. Yet an increasingly vociferous anti-wind lobby has developed here in the UK, determined to ensure that this clean and renewable energy source is stillborn. Many of its adherents are rather suspect, like the barmy David Bellamy (see below) and the pro-nuclear Thatcherite Bernard Ingham. Moreover, the case against turbines sounds flimsy in the extreme. One householder can find nothing more convincing to complain about on the anti-wind Country Guardian website than an “irritating flickering” caused by the sun going down behind the moving blades of a nearby windmill. Whether the spinning blades kill birds is still controversial – and doubtless more hen harriers and red kites are mashed to pieces on the roads by SUV-driving ‘country guardians’ than ever come a cropper in the turbines. The debate is essentially about one thing only: the visible intrusion of turbines on the landscape. In some sensitive areas this is a fair point – I wouldn’t like to see turbines all over the Lake District. But it’s also overblown. A couple of centuries ago there were tens of thousands of windmills around the country. Now there are merely hundreds. Most of the anti-wind lobby is sceptic on global warming, and simply doesn’t deserve to be taken seriously – especially now that the Conservatives have joined the fray.
Comments
Simon
July 27th, 2004 at 02:40 PM
Is that picture of a hillside covered in thousands of windmills for real? I suspect not. Disinformation-tastic
Peter Winters
July 27th, 2004 at 04:26 PM
I think the challenge is mainly to do with designing wind power in such a way that it is something people would like to have in the landscape.
I am from West Sussex and I think most current designs would not look at all good on the South Downs. I am sure most people would be against them!! Yet, one of the beloved sights of the Downs is a wind power installation – the Jack & Jill Windmills near Brighton – www.mmhistory.org.uk/sept_98/guid2_ii.html
So, I think we do need a very sensitive, aesthetic, visionary, environmental approach to the application of wind power. What we don’t want is a Soviet-style, industrial approach. Let’s get those designers working!
Wind power has a role to play, but I suspect not a very important role. My sense is that we ought to be focusing on solar power, and using the National Grid as our power infrastructure.
Personally, I am also coming around to the idea of nuclear power (picking-up on an earlier discussion), but I am very cautious about it. There are a number of very dangerous pitfalls with nuclear!
Vicki Falde
August 3rd, 2004 at 01:49 AM
All these people protesting that wind farms will ruin beautiful scenic views seem to forget that there were once some great scenic views where suburbs, factories, refineries, and drilling sites are now sited. Hummm…something to do with jobs, consumer greed, and addition to fossil fuels, maybe?
I love scenic beauty, too, and hate the idea of losing even more of it in the future. But when cheap oil and gas go by the wayside, and people still want their power, I question how many of them will be whining about windmills ruining their views THEN.
Lynn Vincentnathan
August 6th, 2004 at 05:10 PM
You can get Green Mountain Energy (www.greenmountain.com) to supply your electricity (in some states, 100% renewable energy is available) in: Texas, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, and Pennsylvannia. Some of these are under different names, but above website will get to there.
100% wind from Green Mountain costs just a little more, hardly anything if you have already bought your SunFrost refrigerator (www.sunfrost.com).
They told me they can put up wind generators as the demand requires. For instance, they can put on farms, renting space from the farmers, who can then continue to farm right up to the wind generators.
I also understand that there are small wind generators that are super quiet, that people can mount on their homes in suburban areas to offset electric bill.