When it comes to making your mind up about wind farms, which is the most sensible option - finding out for yourself, or listening to a dangerous bunch of bullshitters like VVASP?
ScottishPower Renewables, the company behind the proposals to build a windfarm at Lenchwick in Worcestershire, held out the opportunity to visit a working wind farm. Disappointingly, only eleven people took up the free offer. Which would suggest that most locals would rather listen to rumours and lies than find out for themselves.
We set off, one Saturday morning, in a minibus, guided by a SatNav which took us through every village, along every B-road, and practically through every back garden along the way. There wasn't a huge amount of conversation: if anything, there was a certain tension in the air as we trundled across the country to Northamptonshire. At lunchtime, we arrived at the pub where a buffet lunch was to be served.
Hearing that a pub lunch was part of the itinerary, one of our friends in the Lenches observed that there's no such thing as a free lunch. Well, maybe there is: we ate, we didn't pay, and all we were invited to do was to visit a working windfarm and make up our own minds. No strings attached. After all, if anything that the protesters had ever said about wind turbines was true, the visit could have been a PR disaster for ScottishPower Renewables.
Over lunch, however, my fellow travellers opened up with a barrage of questions, which they fired at the two young women from SPR.
Why is it that in Scotland, wind turbines can't be built within 2 kilometres of a property, but in England they can be erected right by our back doors?
Well, because the mythical Scottish 2 kilometre law doesn't exist. It's another of those lies spread by protesters.
What about the noise these turbines generate?
We'll be standing right by a bunch of turbines shortly, so we'll find out just how noisy they are.
What about the health risks?
This is where I piped up, because few things annoy me more than people spreading rumours and lies about the health problems created by modern wind turbines. There is no evidence - not a scrap, not a shred - that windfarms damage the health of those in the area. Of course, if you're determined to believe that a nearby windfarm will ruin your health, what's likely to happen? You'll make yourself ill, that's what. But that's your fault, for kidding yourself, and not the fault of the turbines, which cause no health problems at all. Just because a small number of people are stupid enough to imagine that a wind turbine, of all things, is a health risk, that doesn't make these turbines dangerous - rather, it just proves that some people are really rather silly.
And then we set off for Burtonwold Wind Farm, near the Weetabix factory.
The farmer met us at the gate to his property and escorted us to within 500 metres of the nearest turbine, where we all got off the minibus. And we looked, and we listened.
There was a twenty mile-an-hour wind blowing. Ten large turbines were turning away at full capacity. At 500 metres, you couldn't hear them at all.
The nearest village was just a kilometre from the turbines. Naturally, when the windfarm was first proposed, there was some local opposition. More recently, plans had been submitted for a further seven turbines on the site - and there had been no complaints from the villagers about these new turbines. So, what does that teach us? That people only object to what they don't know about. Once they'd discovered that these modern turbines are clean, quiet and pose no health risks whatsoever, they chilled out and got on with their lives.
Next, we drove right up to the turbines and, once again, got out of the minibus.
The farmer still farms his 200 acres. Crops were growing all around; only five acres, in total, had been lost to the turbines and their access roads. What a sensible use of land: growing crops AND harvesting the wind. Farm workers' cottages were there amongst the turbines. Did any of the farm workers have a problem, living so close to the turbines? Apparently not. There were no problems at all.
Even right next to a hard-working turbine, the noise was negligible. We walked right up to them, stood directly underneath the turning blades. We climbed the maintenance steps, placed our hands on the masts, chatting away all the time. Local children had taken part in a competition to name the individual turbines - one has been christened 'The Wind Wizard'. We watched red kites flying between the blades, as if playing a game (which is how 'endangered' species respond to these things - they find them amusing). We assessed for ourselves the impact on the landscape. We took photographs and recorded videos - partly to prove that THESE TURBINES BARELY MADE A SOUND! We had the evidence. So many lies had been told about these things, but there we were, finding out for ourselves ...
Just as members of our local district council's planning committee had found when they went on a fact-finding visit. Let's be clear: those who've visited a working wind farm know that there's nothing wrong with them, and no intelligent, grown-up reasons to object to them. Those who haven't, and who've just let protest groups like the VVASP infect their minds with their lunatic propaganda, know nothing at all.
The sense of relief was tangible, as was the awe felt by my fellow visitors as they stood amongst these magnificent machines. Elderly people from my local villages were smiling, gazing up and around at the turbines, enjoying the visit, having their fears laid to rest.
We explored the site. We stood. We looked. We listened. We chatted away. We were satisfied. Wind farms work. They are not a problem.
The atmosphere on the bus for the return journey was completely different. There was an abundance of relaxed and friendly conversation. The girls from ScottishPower Renewables were no longer the enemy. Nobody was worried anymore about the turbines. All the lunatic phantoms raised by the maniacs of the VVASP, or the myths spread about by their sheep-like followers, had been dispelled.
As we drove back into the Lenches, I gazed out across the fields near Harvington where some of these turbines are likely to be built. It struck me how bare and empty the landscape currently was. The VVASP cretins have made ridiculous claims that the wind farm will ruin the landscape forever. But then, they're ignorant and deluded.
The truth is that much of the landscape has already been ruined by monoculture. At least, I felt, the turbines, when they come, will give the landscape some interest. They will even enhance our much-denuded Blossom Trail, providing visitors with a reason to come and look. That's been the experience elsewhere in the country where wind farms have been established. As usual, the protesters, spouting a load of self-serving bilge, are wrong. Wind turbines are an attraction.
So - what did we learn from the trip? Well, there's nothing actually wrong with wind turbines. They're pretty well silent, they do little or no damage to the landscape, they don't harm wildlife, and people who actually know what they're talking about don't have a problem with them.
What a shame that only eleven individuals chose to make the trip. What a shame that most of the locals in my villages aren't interested in the truth, but rather in the lies told by the VVASP.
What a shame that the debate has been hijacked by self-interested idiots, when finding out the truth for oneself can be so easy, and so enjoyable.
ScottishPower Renewables, the company behind the proposals to build a windfarm at Lenchwick in Worcestershire, held out the opportunity to visit a working wind farm. Disappointingly, only eleven people took up the free offer. Which would suggest that most locals would rather listen to rumours and lies than find out for themselves.
We set off, one Saturday morning, in a minibus, guided by a SatNav which took us through every village, along every B-road, and practically through every back garden along the way. There wasn't a huge amount of conversation: if anything, there was a certain tension in the air as we trundled across the country to Northamptonshire. At lunchtime, we arrived at the pub where a buffet lunch was to be served.
Hearing that a pub lunch was part of the itinerary, one of our friends in the Lenches observed that there's no such thing as a free lunch. Well, maybe there is: we ate, we didn't pay, and all we were invited to do was to visit a working windfarm and make up our own minds. No strings attached. After all, if anything that the protesters had ever said about wind turbines was true, the visit could have been a PR disaster for ScottishPower Renewables.
Over lunch, however, my fellow travellers opened up with a barrage of questions, which they fired at the two young women from SPR.
Why is it that in Scotland, wind turbines can't be built within 2 kilometres of a property, but in England they can be erected right by our back doors?
Well, because the mythical Scottish 2 kilometre law doesn't exist. It's another of those lies spread by protesters.
What about the noise these turbines generate?
We'll be standing right by a bunch of turbines shortly, so we'll find out just how noisy they are.
What about the health risks?
This is where I piped up, because few things annoy me more than people spreading rumours and lies about the health problems created by modern wind turbines. There is no evidence - not a scrap, not a shred - that windfarms damage the health of those in the area. Of course, if you're determined to believe that a nearby windfarm will ruin your health, what's likely to happen? You'll make yourself ill, that's what. But that's your fault, for kidding yourself, and not the fault of the turbines, which cause no health problems at all. Just because a small number of people are stupid enough to imagine that a wind turbine, of all things, is a health risk, that doesn't make these turbines dangerous - rather, it just proves that some people are really rather silly.
And then we set off for Burtonwold Wind Farm, near the Weetabix factory.
The farmer met us at the gate to his property and escorted us to within 500 metres of the nearest turbine, where we all got off the minibus. And we looked, and we listened.
There was a twenty mile-an-hour wind blowing. Ten large turbines were turning away at full capacity. At 500 metres, you couldn't hear them at all.
The nearest village was just a kilometre from the turbines. Naturally, when the windfarm was first proposed, there was some local opposition. More recently, plans had been submitted for a further seven turbines on the site - and there had been no complaints from the villagers about these new turbines. So, what does that teach us? That people only object to what they don't know about. Once they'd discovered that these modern turbines are clean, quiet and pose no health risks whatsoever, they chilled out and got on with their lives.
Next, we drove right up to the turbines and, once again, got out of the minibus.
The farmer still farms his 200 acres. Crops were growing all around; only five acres, in total, had been lost to the turbines and their access roads. What a sensible use of land: growing crops AND harvesting the wind. Farm workers' cottages were there amongst the turbines. Did any of the farm workers have a problem, living so close to the turbines? Apparently not. There were no problems at all.
Even right next to a hard-working turbine, the noise was negligible. We walked right up to them, stood directly underneath the turning blades. We climbed the maintenance steps, placed our hands on the masts, chatting away all the time. Local children had taken part in a competition to name the individual turbines - one has been christened 'The Wind Wizard'. We watched red kites flying between the blades, as if playing a game (which is how 'endangered' species respond to these things - they find them amusing). We assessed for ourselves the impact on the landscape. We took photographs and recorded videos - partly to prove that THESE TURBINES BARELY MADE A SOUND! We had the evidence. So many lies had been told about these things, but there we were, finding out for ourselves ...
Just as members of our local district council's planning committee had found when they went on a fact-finding visit. Let's be clear: those who've visited a working wind farm know that there's nothing wrong with them, and no intelligent, grown-up reasons to object to them. Those who haven't, and who've just let protest groups like the VVASP infect their minds with their lunatic propaganda, know nothing at all.
The sense of relief was tangible, as was the awe felt by my fellow visitors as they stood amongst these magnificent machines. Elderly people from my local villages were smiling, gazing up and around at the turbines, enjoying the visit, having their fears laid to rest.
We explored the site. We stood. We looked. We listened. We chatted away. We were satisfied. Wind farms work. They are not a problem.
The atmosphere on the bus for the return journey was completely different. There was an abundance of relaxed and friendly conversation. The girls from ScottishPower Renewables were no longer the enemy. Nobody was worried anymore about the turbines. All the lunatic phantoms raised by the maniacs of the VVASP, or the myths spread about by their sheep-like followers, had been dispelled.
As we drove back into the Lenches, I gazed out across the fields near Harvington where some of these turbines are likely to be built. It struck me how bare and empty the landscape currently was. The VVASP cretins have made ridiculous claims that the wind farm will ruin the landscape forever. But then, they're ignorant and deluded.
The truth is that much of the landscape has already been ruined by monoculture. At least, I felt, the turbines, when they come, will give the landscape some interest. They will even enhance our much-denuded Blossom Trail, providing visitors with a reason to come and look. That's been the experience elsewhere in the country where wind farms have been established. As usual, the protesters, spouting a load of self-serving bilge, are wrong. Wind turbines are an attraction.
So - what did we learn from the trip? Well, there's nothing actually wrong with wind turbines. They're pretty well silent, they do little or no damage to the landscape, they don't harm wildlife, and people who actually know what they're talking about don't have a problem with them.
What a shame that only eleven individuals chose to make the trip. What a shame that most of the locals in my villages aren't interested in the truth, but rather in the lies told by the VVASP.
What a shame that the debate has been hijacked by self-interested idiots, when finding out the truth for oneself can be so easy, and so enjoyable.
PS: Andrew Harmsworth, head of physics at The Leys school in Cambridge, took the photo at the top of this post during a school visit to Burtonwold wind farm
No comments:
Post a Comment