01208 831472
info@blotcornwall.co.uk
Welcome
Q: How much does the wind blow in the United Kingdom?
A: Northern Ireland and Scotland have higher wind speeds than England, and
coastal sites are obviously windier than those inland. The DTI claim that
that over a year, a wind turbine in the UK will produce on average, 27% of
the energy possible if it was generating at maximum output at all times.
This claim is of course meaningless when trying to establish the merits of
a specific site. In any case, the unreliability of wind turbines means it
would still not be possible to supply the country with its needs. On
December 25th 2005 for example, almost no wind turbines were turning
anywhere in the country!
Q: Can the electricity be stored?
A: No. There is no reliable or economically viable way of storing
electricity generated by wind factories
Q: How are the figures arrived at when people talk about the number of
households that will benefit from wind energy generation?
A: Figures are often used to simplify difficult explanations. The trouble
with this is that they can be misleading. For instance, it is said that
the average household consumes 4,800 kWh per year. This is a very
optimistic figure based on everyone making huge efforts to save energy in
the future. But assuming we are all trying to do our bit for conservation,
let's keep to that. If a nearby wind factory (23MW) were generating
electricity 27% of the time, it would theoretically be providing energy to
11,333 households but only when the wind was blowing.
Q: What is the main complaint that people have against wind power?
A: Although we are all keen to do whatever we can to support renewable
energy - and wind power sounds like a good idea - large onshore wind
factories are very inefficient and make a huge negative impact on fragile
countryside environments. With mounting concern about global warming, it
goes against the grain to see vast sums of money spent on a form of energy
generation which brings such small returns. It seems wasteful. Even David
Milliband the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
recently stated that "...wind energy will never supply base load
requirements." Put another way, it doesn't matter how many turbines you
put up, we still have to have another source of energy running 24 hours a
day as back up because wind power is unreliable, unpredictable and
uncontrollable.
Q: There must be a role for wind factories – why else are they being
built?
A: Developers find it very profitable to develop onshore wind factories
because electricity providers are obliged by government to buy a
percentage of renewable energy which is much more expensive than
electricity generated in other ways.
Q: Is it possible to generate reliable non CO2 emitting electricity?
A: Yes. Nuclear power does not generate CO2 and it already meets 20% of
Britain’s electricity needs. Hydro electric schemes are efficient and
reliable and Tidal energy in the right places could make an important
contribution. There are also big strides being made in domestic
generation. Geo Thermal (drawing heat from the ground), Solar Panels and
Micro Wind Turbines are all already possible. When the government fulfills
its promise to support these innovations, individual households will be
able to take more responsibility for generating their own renewable
energy.
Q: What do environmentalists think?
A: Many environmentalists think that the destruction that onshore
Windfarms wreak in the local environment far outweighs the amount of
energy that they produce. Both David Bellamy and Prof James Lovelock (the
inventor of
Gaia Hypothesis) are adamantly opposed to
Windfarms. Prof Lovelock recently said on Radio 4 that they are "worse
than useless".
Q: I think I now understand the issues here - how can I help? what can I
do?
A: There are a number of things you can do. Firstly, if you have some
spare time, or like walking the dog and meeting your neighbours, you can
help the committee distribute leaflets, collect questionnaires, help with
surveys etc. If you feel you can’t help at this stage, you can certainly
lodge your concerns with us (see the Campaign section for full details) -
we will also be asking all concerned residents to write to their local and
borough councils at the appropriate time to register their concerns and
objections.
Q: Will it affect my TV reception?
A: Despite reassurances, people are having problems with their TV
reception. I don't know about you, but my TV aerial points directly at the
Windfarm site. Such structures can cast a 10 Km shadow. Think that a
“free” aerial or digital set top box in some way compensates for these
monstrous machines is like saying you’d be happy with a bar of chocolate
in exchange for someone ransacking your house and emptying your bank
account
Q: Will it be safe?
A: Fragments of turbine have been thrown over 400m and accumulated ice .
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