If you think it’s difficult to get planning permission for your conservatory or outhouse, you should try building a wind farm! Following protests in my local area against two proposed wind farms, which recently delayed the planning process days before the government unveiled its timely scheme to focus more heavily on renewable energy – in particular wind turbines – I decided it was high time to find out what all the controversy is about and pay a visit to one wind farm developer, Renewable Energy Systems.
Based just off the M25 at Kings Langley, I went on the company’s "energy trail" – designed mainly for school parties to visit but just as fascinating for adults. Any cynicism you may have will vanish when you see that this environmentally focused organisation certainly does practice what it preaches – its headquarters are the world’s first commercial low-emissions office redevelopment and is self-sufficient, generating power for heat, light and hot water through its own flagship wind turbine as well as solar panels, biomass crops (elephant grass grown on-site is used to fuel the boiler), an underground heat store and natural groundwater cooling system, as well as a wild grass orchard, beehives and hornbeam trees around the office windows – an old-fashioned technique to create natural shade.
Unfortunately every onshore wind farm proposal attracts a group of local residents who feel compelled to continue to hinder the essential progress of society towards renewable energy in the face of horrifyingly diminishing fossil fuels (the current transport fuel crisis is unfortunately just the tip of the iceberg), and environmentally suspect alternatives such as nuclear power. Such groups use clever tactics to encourage the planning inspector to scrutinize the developers’ credentials and wind speed statistics, threatening to take further legal action against the development whatever the inspector’s recommendations, which could ultimately end up in a protracted high court appeal. And, by the way, all these proceedings cost money, which us as taxpayers are funding.
One criticism of protest groups is that wind farm developers’ motives are merely commercial – and that there isn’t enough wind to justify building a wind farm. Renewable energy producers certainly are commercial enterprises and as such are highly unlikely to propose building a wind farm on a site which has little wind! Wind speeds are indeed vitally important, and form the main initial investment in terms of time and money, in order to be absolutely certain that the site will produce enough energy to be commercially viable. Studies are conducted over several months and are therefore hardly undertaken on a whim.
There are in fact very few opportunities in England for wind farm developments because of the density of population, housing and the landscape, and I was shown how technology is used in conjunction with planning restrictions to identify rare "pockets" of space suitable for wind speed testing, before a development is even proposed. You may be interested to learn that although the RES onsite turbine does not benefit from the best wind speeds in Britain, it still produces excess energy because the offices are so energy-efficient. This excess energy is fed back into the national grid and redistributed by Good Energy, one of the green electricity suppliers you can pick to supply your energy (and which has just won this year’s British Renewable Energy Company Award).
A wind turbine itself is a majestic, beautiful feat of engineering. Standing tall and serene, its mechanism is simplicity itself – using schoolbook physics to take the natural wind around us to create precious, clean energy. I stood right underneath the RES on-site turbine and the myth of how noisy they are is nothing short of propaganda. I could only hear a slight "wicking" sound which was actually surprisingly calming, and only when I stood right underneath the turbine. How do RES’s immediate neighbours feel about living so close to a wind turbine, I asked? They love it, apparently, as do the residents of Lowestoft who have recently acquired a turbine of their own, which the local community have affectionately named "Gulliver".
I was dismayed to learn that most wind farm developments in England are rejected due to protests by local groups. Success is greater in Scotland and Ireland, and the USA has positively embraced the beauty and simplicity of this truly clean and inexhaustible supply of energy production – one of the largest wind farms in the world in Texas boasts over 240 turbines. Anyone who remembers the opening scenes of the film "Rain Man" will surely be left spellbound at the breathtaking vision of the army of windmills lining the road – surely more attractive and without the health risks of pylons, which are as much a part of our modern landscape as TV aerials and satellite dishes, which were all condemned as blots on the landscape when they first appeared on the scene, but at which we don’t bat an eyelid now.
How ironic that the Planning Inspectorate itself – there to decide on complex planning issues but usually ending up as piggy in the middle between developers and the inevitable opposition they face – are in fact employed by our government, currently strenuously pontificating about its commitment to renewable energy and climate change policies. Hardly anything to do with one of the main concerns always raised against wind farms – aesthetics, and yet this is one of the many spanners protest groups throw into the works. But how relevant is this argument?
Is a wind farm’s appearance as judged by a handful of people really more important than the distinct advantages of the energy produced (those pylons again)? If that’s the case, what about nuclear power stations, hypermarkets, distribution centres, incineration plants, heavy industry and other commercial developments which are nowhere near as beneficial to the environment as a wind farm, and in some cases highly pollutive and disruptive to the local community. When it comes to issues raised by protesters such as landscape and visual impacts, these are so subjective that unfortunately they are left to the planning inspector’s personal opinion – the outcome of which can hardly be said to be impartial.
It can be hard for people – individuals and communities – to accept and embrace change, but for the sake of the future I do wish wind farm protesters and the powers they court would expand their fears of such changes to the environment around them as whole rather than just their own homes and villages. Have you ever seen the film Mad Max? The reality of no fossil fuels is nearly upon us – make no mistake about it! Before protesting against a wind farm, I would encourage anyone to get up close and personal to a turbine and consider a trip to a wind farm, stand right underneath a turbine and see how precious electricity can be produced cleanly and sustainably, before forcing the rest of us to forego the opportunity of embracing wind energy for the benefit of ours and our children’s futures.
If you are pro-wind farm then you can make a big difference to the appeals process. Whilst a lot of protesters often speak out at public inquiries, it is just as important for wind farm supporters to find their voice. Unfortunately it is more common to complain about something than encourage it – but you certainly can make a huge difference by helping the planning inspector make a balanced judgement. For information on how you can support wind farm developments visit RES at http://www.res-ltd.com/ or Ethical Junction members The British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) at http://www.bwea.com/ Also see the Energy Saving Trust http://www.saveenergy.co.uk/, the Sustainable Development Commission http://ww.sd-commission.org.uk/ and The Carbon Trust http://www.carbontrust.org.uk/
We all have shares in our future, and by saying Yes to Wind we can help make it a lot brighter.
ENERGY FACTS
85% of the general public support renewable energy
81% of people support wind energy
Over 60% of people would be happy to live within 5km of a wind farm
There are 94 wind farms in the UK with 1,100 turbines
Turbines provide power up to 85% of the year
They are quick to build, easy and cheap to maintain and last for over 20 years
Currently renewable energy makes up just 3.2% of fuel in the UK
Aims are by 2020 for the UK to generate 20% of energy through renewable sources
14 nuclear power stations are to be taken out of service over the next 30 years.
By Lisa Jackson
Duncan Bannatyne, entrepreneur and Dragons’ Den tycoon, said: ‘When I employ someone I look for initiative and drive; someone who is a self starter and can work well as part of a team. Volunteering for a programme like Platform2 demonstrates these young people have the desire to do something extra with their lives and help others in the process. These are qualities employers are looking for on a CV and show more about a person than their qualifications alone.’