Off-shore vs On-shore
Where wind farms are
sited off-shore great numbers of larger turbines can be built to take advantage
of strong and consistent winds.
However, where wind
farms are sited on-shore they generate relatively small amounts of power and
can have a major negative impact on people and the surrounding countryside. The
benefits have to be weighed against the negative impact.
Harringe Brooks Wind Farm
We object to the
proposed wind turbines at Harringe Brooks on the following grounds. We consider
that these negative factors far outweigh the modest reduction in CO2 emissions
and the relatively small amount (see section on over-stated benefits below) of
electricity produced:
- They would dominate and adversely affect the landscape character of the area - particularly its open rural character.
- They would adversely affect the historic landscape setting by introducing massive, intrusive, industrial forms out of scale and out of keeping with historic buildings, field patterns and views.
- The construction / commissioning phase would last approx. 12 months and would involve deliveries of huge quantities of ready-mixed concrete for the foundations - potentially 25-30 truck deliveries a day - as well as larger vehicles delivering turbine sections.
- The proposed development would "open up" the surrounding area to further wind farm development - to the detriment of its landscape and historic rural character.
- The underlying motive for building them is primarily to enable Ecotricity to take advantage of the exceptional levels of subsidy currently available to wind farm developers.
- In view of the profits to be made on the back of the currently available subsidies, we believe that the environmental advantages of the proposed wind farm may be overstated.
- They would create noise by day and night, thereby reducing the peaceful character of the area to the detriment of local residents - with possible adverse health implications
- There are potential health and safety risks for turbines collapsing
- They will have adversely effects on birdlife, bats and may also affect radio and mobile phones.
- There are potential problems due to sunlight flickering on the rotating blades.
- They would have no significant economic benefit to the local economy.
- They will adversely affect the amenity value and hence prices and saleability of local houses.
Visual Impact - landscape
Inappropriately sited, wind farms at these locations, will
be totally out of character with the area within which they are proposed.
These tall industrial structures in a otherwise rural landscape will
be intrusive and detract from the natural beauty of this part of East Kent. At
125 metres high, they will be far taller than ANY structures within the area.
They will be almost the height of Canary Wharf and 6 times higher than
Sellindge church.
The size, scale and
extent of the turbines would:
- dominate and
adversely affect the landscape character of the area - particularly its rural
character
- represent the
industrialisation of a predominantly rural area
- adversely affect the
historic pattern of the landscape by introducing intrusive and standardised industrial
forms and by its dominating impact upon the setting of historic buildings and
views from public rights of way
- be completely out of
scale with the surrounding landscape
- adversely affect the
whole landscape over a very wide area because of the high, open and visible
nature of the site. The turbines would be visible for many miles
The turbines would
completely dominate the landscape with out-of-scale industrial features alien
to and out of keeping with it.
This drastic change
would detract from the visual amenity of the landscape and affect the enjoyment
of the area by all countryside users - including residents, walkers, cyclists,
riders and visitors.
Residents
Landscape is part of
the general amenity of life in small villages. Destruction of the essential
qualities of the landscape reduces the quality of life of local people.
Local residents have
either lived here since birth or have moved to the area through choice. A large
factor in the attraction of the area for them is the visible landscape with the
characteristics outlined above.
The proposed
development threatens to undermine all of these people's enjoyment of the
wonderful panoramic views and open vistas which are currently a feature of the
local landscape.
Noise, Health & Safety
Wind Turbines are not silent as developers often claim.
Experience has shown that residents living up to a mile away can be seriously
affected by noise, especially at night, causing sleep deprivation. The nearest
houses will be less than 600m away.
The issue of noise
produced by wind turbines is controversial. There are widely conflicting views,
an apparent shortage of scientific research and planning regulations which are
based on outdated data.
It seems that no one
can be certain exactly what the noise implications would be until the site is
operational. By then it would be too late to do anything about it.
Wind turbines produce
three types of sound - (a) mechanical noise from the gearbox and generators,
(b) aerodynamic noise from the movement of the blades through the air and (c)
low frequency infrasound. Research has shown that low frequency sound can cause
serious health problems for people sensitive to its effects. People living near
wind turbines have been reported to experience health problems including sleep difficulties,
headaches, irritability and stress.
The following factors
are worth noting:
1. Obviously, the
closer to a turbine you live the greater the chance of noise being an issue.
The nearest house to one of the proposed turbines would be around 600m.
2. Noise would vary
depending on the force and direction of the wind.
3. Different people
have different sensitivities to noise.
4. Turbines can have
an effect on one another. Sound waves from one turbine can affect and be
affected by sound waves from others. There is potential for small
"ripples" of sound from different turbines to build up into much
larger "waves" of sound. This effect can become marked at certain
distances from turbine clusters.
5. The wind can blow
hard at any time of day or night. In the middle of the night when background
noise is low the turbines could often be at their noisiest.
6. There has little
research into the noise impacts of larger (125/130m) turbines. The people with
the money to undertake such research are the Government and the wind farm
developers - one suspects that they have nothing to gain and everything to lose
from such research.
The statutory
methodology (ETSU-R-97) used by planning authorities to assess wind farm noise
was developed back in 1996 using data from turbines only 40m to 60m high.
Professor
Ffowcs-Williams, Emeritus Professor of Engineering, Cambridge University, one
of the UK’s leading acoustical experts has said:
"The regulations
(ETSU-R-97) are dated and in other ways inadequate. It is known that modern,
very tall turbines, do cause problems, and many think that the current
guidelines fail adequately to protect the public."
Thus the fact that any
proposed wind farm appears to comply with ETSU-R-97 in an Environmental Impact
Assessment gives no guarantee that there will be no noise problems for people
living in the area once the wind farm is built.
Reports from the UK
Noise Association and others (see links below) suggest that the
harmful effects on the health of people living near to wind turbines are
insufficiently assessed and that minimum separation of wind turbines from
dwellings needs to be increased (recommendations range from 1.5km to 1.5
miles), particularly for the large, modern turbines, until comprehensive
scientific research can fully evaluate their impact.
As Mike Barnard
observes (see link below):
"There have been
many examples in the past when warning signs of future problems with new
technologies have been overlooked or ignored (e.g. asbestos/tobacco). It took
time before a pattern of health complaints were observed. As turbines increase
both in size and proximity to houses reports of health effects appear to have
started to escalate. In years to come the noise issue from large modern
turbines may be seen to have fallen into the same category."
Finally, the
experience of the Davis family from Deeping St Nicholas, who live 930m from an
eight turbine wind farm, makes worrying reading. As soon as this wind farm
became operational in 2007 they started experiencing noise problems which
reached such a state that they have had to find an alternative "sleeping
house" 5 miles away in order to get an uninterrupted night’s sleep. Yet
the wind farm met the Government guidelines. See: "Statement from Jane Davis of
Deeping St. Nicholas" -
National Wind Watch online documents - April 2007.
Shadow Flicker
This occurs when the sun is low in sky and the rotating blades
are in between the sun and the observer. This causes a monotonous strobing
effect throughout the facing rooms in homes up to a mile away from the
turbines.
For examples of both of these see the following video clip of
what can happen if Turbines are sited too closely to housing in an
inappropriate location and without due consideration for the residents of the
area: Wind Turbine ShadowFlickerand Noise, Byron Wisconsin - YouTube
Environmental Impact
Whilst wind farms are put forward as being an Environmentally
positive development, this does not cover the whole Environmental impact- only
a small part of it. Wind turbines aren't as green as you think!
As well as the visual impact there are significant concerns with regard to the ecology and the effect on the wildlife in the area. Particular concerns about bats and bird life have been raised.
As well as the visual impact there are significant concerns with regard to the ecology and the effect on the wildlife in the area. Particular concerns about bats and bird life have been raised.
Birds & Bats
Birds and bats are
particularly vulnerable to wind turbines. Although the blades rotate at only 15
to 30 rpm the blade tips, travelling at around 200mph, can kill both birds and
bats.
There is ample
evidence of barn owls flying, and probably nesting, in close proximity to
Harringe Brooks. Buzzards have also moved into the area and a large number of
more common species are also active.
The existence of any
bird migratory routes in proximity to the proposed site must be clearly defined
to ensure that migrants will not be put at risk.
Even if not killed, it
is possible for birds and bats to change their behaviour and avoid dangerous areas
- with possible implications for bird migration patterns.
Adverse effects of
this sort can only really be measured over time by monitoring population
figures. Developers might point to a lack of direct evidence of individual
fatalities but it is worth bearing in mind (a) that the local fox population is
unlikely to leave the evidence lying on the ground for long and (b) the only
people with legal access to the area beneath the turbines would be Ecotricity
and the landowner.
Animals
Domesticated animals
(including livestock, pets and horses) may be affected by noise - particularly
ultra low frequency transmissions from the turbines. Concerns have been
expressed that this could be detrimental to successful livestock breeding.
Any loss of wildlife will
detract from the amenity of people enjoying the countryside.
Effect on Local Roads
The construction /
commissioning phase could last approx. 12 months.
Based on figures seen
in relation to other wind farm developments, it appears that around 25 to 30 truck
deliveries of concrete per day could be expected.
In addition, sections
of turbine up to 40m long would be delivered on special large low-loaders.
All of the approach
roads are small and rural and the condition of the road surfaces is seldom
particularly good - often necessitating piecemeal edging repairs.
It is likely that the
additional traffic and its heavy nature would cause both congestion at the site
access and damage to the road surfaces necessitating more extensive and
disruptive repairs.
Further Development
Perhaps most worrying
is that there are plenty of examples where the grant of planning approval for a
wind farm "opens up" the area for further wind farm development.
If 600m from the
nearest village is seen as acceptable then one can imagine many
"suitable" sites along the high ground overlooking the Romney Marsh
in both Ashford and Shepway districts - with the devastation to the landscape
which that would entail.
Subsidies for Wind
Farm Developers
At present, there are
huge subsidies available (via the Renewables Obligation (RO) system) to energy
companies who build wind farms. However, increasing energy prices and changes
in the energy sector have rendered them unnecessary - although energy companies
still receive them and taxpayers still pay for them.
Based on recent
industry figures quoted in the press, each turbine at Harringe Brooks would
generate power worth around £200,000 on the wholesale market, plus a further
£300,000 of subsidy from taxpayers. With a turbine cost of around £2m the net
profit over the proposed initial 25 year life of the wind farm would be around
£3.36m a year.[source - report by the Environment Editor of The Sunday Times,
27/1/2008 - click for article]
In January 2007,
Ofgem, in its response to Government consultation on the subsidy system stated:
"We fully support
the Government's aims of reducing carbon emissions and promoting renewable
generation but we think there are cheaper and simpler ways of meeting these
aims than the RO scheme which is forecast to cost business and domestic
customers over £30bn."
Ofgem goes on to state
that:
"Other
organisations, such as the National Audit Office, Carbon Trust,
academics and the European Commission have all raised similar concerns."
academics and the European Commission have all raised similar concerns."
"The subsidy
generates returns for investors that are greatly in excess of the economic cost
of generation it helps to finance ... At an average price of £45/MWh (close to
the current wholesale price) all of the existing deployed technologies are
economic without the need for any further support suggesting that nearly all of
the RO subsidy is excess."
[NB. Ofgem is
responsible for administering the RO system on behalf of the Government but
does not set the rules. Responsibility for the policy itself lies with the Dept
for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform (BERR)]
Overstated Benefits
Whilst there are
clearly benefits for the environment in terms of reduced reliance on fossil
fuels, the extent of these may not be as much as is claimed.
Wind turbines can only
produce electricity when the wind is between around 10 and 56 mph. Electricity
demand varies considerably at different times of day and year. There is no way
to store electricity; demand must be met by immediate supply. Since there is no
way to control the wind and determine how much electricity a turbine will
produce at a given time, other, traditional energy sources are still needed in
order to ensure supply. Thus, the building of wind farms does not mean that
other power stations can be decommissioned.
The construction of a
wind farm is not in itself "carbon neutral". The manufacture of huge
metal turbines, their delivery on specialised lorries, the delivery of huge
quantities of concrete for their bases and their actual assembly clearly expend
large amounts of energy - most of it fossil fuels.
The extent to which
overall CO2 emissions are reduced is not clear cut and, in the
past, claims made by Npower have been found by the Advertising Standards
Authority to have breached their rules on "truthfulness",
"substantiation" and "environmental claims" - (see
2007 decision on ASA website).
For a discussion and
interviews on the question of whether the benefits of wind farms are being
overstated, listen again to BBC Radio 4's "Costing the Earth":
"... experts
interviewed on Costing the Earth claim the power of the wind to deliver
electricity is being overestimated by companies keen to cash in on big
subsidies." - (30th August 2007 -http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/costingtheearth_20070830.shtml)
House Prices / Saleability
The loss of amenity in
an area will have an adverse effect on property values.
A court has recently
ruled that living near a wind farm decreases house prices and it awarded a
householder a discount on her council tax because her £170,000 home had been
rendered worthless by a turbine 1,000 yards away. (For more details see
the Telegraph report 26 July 2008)
In a 2004 court case
where a seller had failed to disclose to the buyer that a wind farm was about
to be built nearby, the judge ruled that the value of the property reduced by
20% by the presence of the wind farm.
Much depends on
proximity and visibility. Clearly the prices of nearby houses in sight of the
turbines would be affected.
The wider effect is
likely to be linked to the extent to which the presence of the turbines changes
the character of the landscape. In the case of Harringe Brooks the negative
effect on the landscape would be profound.
Would you prefer to
buy a rural house in a village with six of the biggest wind turbines in Britain
looming over it or one in a rural village without the turbines?
