Windpower Links
These are useful links
for finding out more about windfarms and windpower.
Renewable Energy Foundation http://www.ref.org.uk/
REF is a not-for-profit foundation formed of individuals concerned by
the uncontrolled growth in proposals and planning applications for
power stations in inappropriate rural areas.
Is part of a growing national consensus that the United Kingdom's energy policy is unbalanced,
and that the drive for renewable energy generation has been inadequately planned, a fact that
has resulted in a developer-led industrial feeding frenzy that is
neither green nor sustainable. It is improbable
that this current broad scale industrialization of the countryside will
bring about any significant reductions in the emissions of greenhouse
gases or meet the long term energy needs of the UK (as laid out in the
Feb 2003 Energy White Paper).
REF aim to raise public awareness of the issues and encourage the
creation of a structured energy policy for the UK, which is both more
ecologically sensitive and effective.
The government has not fully grasped
the scale of wind generation required to match the capacities
required to meet its targets (IChemE). The Energy White Paper mentions
a 10,000MW installed renewables capacity for 2010. This amounts to no
less than 5,000 modern wind turbines. Even if development on this scale
is feasible, it is not clear that the wind resource is sufficient (this
is particularly true of onshore wind). Developers routinely quote an
average capacity factor of 0.3, but according to figures published in
the recent Ofgem report on renewables (2004) and analysed by REF the
actual achieved figures so far are very much lower (0.25 for Scotland,
0.24 for England, and 0.23 for Wales). Since we first pointed this out,
the British Wind Energy Association has defended the usual claim of 0.3
by referring to an article which cites data from a single wind power
station, the Delabole Wind Farm in Cornwall. Is it representative, as
the BWEA claim? Its hard to say. As Garard Hassan and Partners Ltd.,
the authors of the article, comment (p. 28):
Campaign to Protect Rural England http://www.cpre.org.uk
CPRE Hertfordshire branch, http://www.cpreherts.org.uk
31a
Church Lane, Welwyn,
Hertfordshire AL6 9LW Email: office@cpreherts.org.uk
There is a CPRE
Policy Position Statement on Onshore Wind Turbines which states the
general position of CPRE is that each wind power proposal should be
assessed for its potential impact on the local landscape and that we will strongly resist those which, in our
opinion, damage the beauty, tranquillity and diversity of the English
countryside. Note If local residents wish us to advise on
mounting a campaign against the proposal, we would encourage them to
join
us (as we are a registered charity and do not receive any financial
help from government or any commercial organisation). Depending
on the strength of local feeling against these wind turbines, the first
step might be to organise a local action group.
Country Guardian http://www.countryguardian.net/
Country
Guardian is a UK conservation group which, since 1991, has campaigned
against the construction of wind turbines in environmentally sensitive
areas. We object because wind
turbines convert rural landscape into industrial landscape, and because
they are a poor source of renewable energy.
Facts about Wind Power
http://www.turbineaction.co.uk/wind-turbine-facts.htm#refs
British Wind Energy Association
The list of
operational wind farms is at http://www.bwea.com/ukwed/operational.asp
(Note that The British Wind Energy Association is the trade and
professional body for the UK wind and marine renewables industries.)
Swaffham windfarm
Pictures of the turbines at Swaffham in Norfolk http://www.newt.me.uk/swaffham.html
The construction of Swaffham windfarm http://www.ecotricity.co.uk/projects/swaffhamII_photos1.htm
Windbyte
TRACKING THE KLONDIKE WINDRUSH IN NORTH EAST ENGLAND & SOUTH EAST
SCOTLAND http://www.windbyte.co.uk/index.html
Enercon
More information on the turbine manufacturer is available at http://www.enercon.de/en/_home.htm
The Botts have specified the model E82
turbine.
Professor
David Bellamy Quotes
"It's not green. It chops up birds. It destroys landscapes."
full
article
Send
comments or questions to us via e-mail at
stopbeningtonwindfarm@yahoo.co.uk
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