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With a proposed operating life of 25 years the initial cost of around £2m per turbine would be recouped in 4 years leaving many years of healthy profit.
As Peter Atherton, head utilities analyst at Citi Investment Research, told the FT: "It's a bonanza. Anyone who can get their nose in the trough is trying to.”
The whole policy of subsidies is coming under increasing criticism but while they remain there is every incentive for a developer, such as Harworth Power, to overstate the benefits and underrate the drawbacks of building new wind farms in particular locations.
We object to the proposed Bleak House Wind Turbines on the following grounds:
1. We consider that these negative factors far outweigh the modest reduction in CO2 emissions and the relatively small amount of electricity produced.
2. Construction of Wind Farms will destroy Great Crested Newts habitat at Bleak House Farm. Great crested Newts are protected by UK and European law, as well as the wild life and countryside act. It is illegal to kill or disturb its habitat.
3. 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 that will affect Wild life (Badger, Dear, Bats) on the SSI site.
4. There are potential problems due to sunlight flickering on the rotating blades. Professor Arnold Wilkins, who believes the link has been overlooked, is calling on engineers to consider the risk when building farms. Epileptics are in danger of a seizure if light flickers are at three or more times a second. Info from Daily Mail, 30 April, 2008
5. The underlying motive for building Wind Farms is primarily to enable Harworth Power Ltd to take advantage of the exceptional levels of subsidy currently available to wind farm developers. Ministers should cut off the funding tap, and use the money to help reduce our obscenely high electricity bills. In the last financial year, electricity consumers were forced to pay a total of £600million in subsidy to the owners of wind turbines. This figure is due to rise to £3billion a year by 2020 as vast areas of the most beautiful parts of the country will be pockmarked with 500fthigh windmills. Information from Daily Mail 5th February 2008.
6. Article 8 of the Human Rights Act1998concerns"the right to respect private and family life, home and correspondence" This peace of legislation accommodates issue such as this one where large bodies such as Cannock Council take decision that affects people’s lives, both the Council and developer are bound by the Act. The act, under article 8 brings in the most stringent test requirement that any action must be "proportionate". The plan to site Industrial Units with its entire Audible and underground disturbance in the hart of residential development area fails this most stringent test hands down. When 8000 properties will be directly affected in order to benefit 3000 properties, this cannot be seen as proportionate We are stating our rights under this peace of legislation will be catastrophically impinged if you allow Wind Farm to be built.
7. 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.
8. There are potential health and safety risks for turbines collapsing.
9. They will adversely affect the amenity value and hence prices and saleability of local houses, reduce house price. The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors estimates that the price of a house located close to a new turbine falls by 20 %, if the owners are able to sell it at all.
10. Underground Vibration could demolish/destroy near by Houses.
11. They will have adversely effects on bird life, bats and TV reception and may also affect radio and mobile phones.
We propose Alternative methods for Cannock District Council in order to tackle Global Warming and be first Eco Friendly UK town:
1. The proposed development of the wind farm at Bleak House can be used to grow Biofuels. They can help us in the fight against climate change. 20 % of the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions come from transport, and these are climbing faster than those in any other sector. The transport sector must make a contribution to cutting total emissions. To get the best out of biofuels in the EU, we need to move together, with clear objectives - so that we can develop a well-functioning internal market and give investors the confidence to put money into developing second-generation fuels. This is why EU heads of state and government agreed last year that every Member State should be obliged to draw 10 % of its transport fuel needs from biofuels by 2020.And the European Commission’s analysis suggests that meeting the 10 % target would mean using about 15 % of our arable land for energy crops by 2020. The figure of 15 % is in a sense artificially high, because a hectare of cereals used for biofuel production also gives valuable by-products for the feed sector – so that each hectare is not used “only” for biofuel production.
2. Solar Energy: Solar panels - innovative solar energy hot water heating systems save energy and save money: 30-70% off your annual hot water bills. Save CO2: a quarter of a tonne or more per year. The UK Government funds schemes providing up to £2,500 to households on certain benefits to improve their heating and energy efficiency. http://www.heatmyhome.co.uk/uk-solar-grants.htm Cannock District Council could encourage Cannock residents to take advantage of available government grants in order to reduce CO2 and distribute information to each home via letter.
Noise day and night, both in terms of volume and the particular type of sound generated is a serious concern - especially with houses as close as 800m away.
The rotors turn at around 15-30 rpm but the blade tips can be travelling at around 200mph. These can easily kill or displace birds and bats, including those visiting the important migration site
According to the BBC's on line "wind-farm assessment tool", more than 2000 houses may experience interference with transmissions. "Wind turbines affect reception up to a maximum distance of 5 km", "it is often impossible to avoid such problems completely" and that "both analogue and digital terrestrial reception can be affected." There may also be effects on radio and mobile phones.
bravenet.com