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Another windfarm rant

PostPosted: Sun Aug 12, 2012 9:46 pm
by whiteburn
Apart from being one of the most inefficient ways of generating electricity and the huge subsidies disappearing into the coffers of foreign companies (apart from the small 'bribes' paid to local communities).

This is why I hate wind farms!

Glen Garry site from summit of Sron a'Choire Ghairbh

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How many more of these monstrosities will we have to suffer!

Re: Another windfarm rant

PostPosted: Sun Aug 12, 2012 10:23 pm
by BobMcBob
Can I build my nuclear power plant in your garden then? ;)

Re: Another windfarm rant

PostPosted: Mon Aug 13, 2012 6:53 am
by whiteburn
BobMcBob wrote:Can I build my nuclear power plant in your garden then? ;)


No problem........we going to have to build either gas, coal or nuclear stations anyway if we want electricity when the wind doesn't blow.

If we need the have windfarms site them closer to population centres, e.g. Arthurs Seat, Firth of Forth, etc. this eliminates transmission losses and saves the Highlands from the double whammy of more power transmission pylons, not forgetting the tens of miles of new bulldozed roads.

Re: Another windfarm rant

PostPosted: Mon Aug 13, 2012 9:56 am
by BobMcBob
:) I really don't find the wind farms to be a problem for me. They don't bother me at all provided they're not on the hill I'm climbing up, whereas a bloomin great ugly monstrosity of a power plant looks hideous wherever you put it.
I agree with you though that wind farms are not the answer to our problems and are mostly unnecessary and only there because of shifty underhand shenanigans between government and turbine companies. But I do think that if you're really against them then arguing that "they make the place look untidy" (which is basically what you're saying) doesn't win you any friends, unfortunately.

Re: Another windfarm rant

PostPosted: Mon Aug 13, 2012 1:52 pm
by Tinto63
In response to Whiteburn, I would point out that there are already far more turbines and windfarms in the south of Scotland than further north and many more are planned, including a couple on the Pentlands (Fauch Hill and Harrow's Law). From many of the Southern Uplands it is hard to avoid the sight of turbines, the giant Clyde Wind being widely visible from the Manor, Moffat, Culter and Lowther Hills. In addition there have been turbines around the summit of Windy Standard (a 698m Graham /Donald) for many years and on the nearby Hare Hill. There is also a farm at 600m in the Moorfoot Hills.

However, to me the most inappropriately sited turbines are the eleven at the Glen Kerie wind farm in the upper Tweed Vallley, These dominate the views from the Manor and Culter hills and ruin the visual integrity of the landscape, they also intrude on one of the classic wild views of the Southern Uplands, that down Gameshope from the Great Hill area.

Here are a few views to horrify (or delight?).

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Windy Standard from Jedburgh Knees


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Cairn on Hare Hill (in the clag)


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Glen Kerie wind farm from Gathersnow Hill


I have been assured that onshore wind farms are a one generation technology and that they will all be gone in 30 or so years, and I'm quite sure that once decommissioned they will be removed for scrap and the access tracks will grass over.

Re: Another windfarm rant

PostPosted: Tue Aug 14, 2012 5:08 am
by ChrisW
With Alex Salmonds view on windfarms I think the Scottish Highlands may soon look like the hills of California. Click pic for larger version
Image

Re: Another windfarm rant

PostPosted: Tue Aug 14, 2012 11:37 am
by SMRussell
I understand why people dislike windfarms, and they are built in inappropriate areas at times but, I'm just going to out myself... I think windfarms can look fantastic, depending on the area.

Re: Another windfarm rant

PostPosted: Tue Aug 14, 2012 1:35 pm
by monarchming
Oh well,each to our own. . . :wtf: :wink:

Re: Another windfarm rant

PostPosted: Tue Aug 14, 2012 4:07 pm
by welshwalker
I would rather have a nuclear plant nearby than a wind farm, the former at least being worthwhile whilst the latter being utterly pointless. I don't see that the nuclear plant on the coast south of Edinburgh has caused any problems with house prices nearby.

Yes we need energy from somewhere. However, each winter when we get a nice big high pressure area over the uk, th temp drops and the wind does also. You don't get much contribution to the grid from turbines.

Re: Another windfarm rant

PostPosted: Wed Aug 15, 2012 7:33 pm
by BobMcBob
I think even Friends of the Earth's own figures show that for wind to produce a meaningful amount of power you need to have several turbines on every hill in the UK. And since wind is unpredictable at best, this needs to be backed up by some other form of generation anyway.
All that said, when the wind does blow it seems daft not to make use of it.
I spend a fair amount of time in the western Lake District, and the turbines on the hills around the coast up there are a far sight less hideous than the vast sprawling mass of Sellafield/Windscale/Whatever they're calling ti this week.
That said, I'm very pro-nuclear, but we ought to let the French sort that out for us, they're pretty good at it.

Re: Another windfarm rant

PostPosted: Wed Aug 15, 2012 7:50 pm
by NickyRannoch
we have a glut of wind farm applications in in the local authority i work for at the moment.

having gone to speak to communities involved you would be amazed, and possibly horrified, to learn of how many people think they should be put away up the hills where no one lives and no one can see them !!!

Re: Another windfarm rant

PostPosted: Wed Aug 15, 2012 9:18 pm
by Stu101
The hills have about for around a billion years (depending where you are walking)

Wind farms will be up for around 100 at the most (technology will eventualy replace them- however they will probably will be viable for a while since the technology to store electricity cost effectively will be on-line in the next 15 years).

However without doing somthing to halt global warming, future generations arn't going to be around to enjoy the hills as we can.

So deal with it, and stop being so selfish.

Re: Another windfarm rant

PostPosted: Wed Aug 15, 2012 9:42 pm
by NickyRannoch
this is kind of beginning to go off topic but i was in kfc tonight and they have replaced their behind the counter menus with 4 samsung lcd tvs that display the menu instead.

seriously - whats the effin point. energy crisis, what energy crisis !!!

we all need to change our behaviour.

Re: Another windfarm rant

PostPosted: Wed Aug 15, 2012 10:05 pm
by jester
BobMcBob wrote:Can I build my nuclear power plant in your garden then? ;)


The SNP activists first line of response to anti windfarm comments! Considering that Scotland is not like Japan, and we have no history of major earthquakes/tsunamis, who not continue to generate nuclear electricity?

So long as the Scottish government are throwing easy money at anyone who wants to put up a turbine, and is willing to ride roughshod over local views, why would anyone start putting their money into wave generated power?

Re: Another windfarm rant

PostPosted: Wed Aug 15, 2012 10:33 pm
by NickyRannoch
i hate to do politics on a walking site but it is a particularly boring trait to label anyone pro windfarms as an snp activist or to imply that salmond has some dream of a windmill covered scotland.

of course its easy politics, particularly at a local level , to target the party of government over the issue but the reality is the lib dem, greens and labour are all committed to meeting the climate change targets in the climate change scotland act 2009 and none have said what they would do differently about how we meet those targets. the conservatives have been a bit more vocal on the subject but lets be the honest the scottish tories have the electoral freedom to promise all their voters the moon on a stick.