Background to the Campaign
Airfield Farm Windfactory is an ill
conceived onshore development, which, if approved by your
councillors, will damage the integrity of many rural villages.
It will undermine local infrastructure. CLOWD submitted
an Objection to Bedford Borough Council based upon the
Landscape and Visual Impact which outlines the enormity
of the impact this ill conceived development will have
on North Bedfordshire.
The leaflet giving the CLOWD objection,
based on the Landscape and Visual Impact, is available
by following the link : clowdLeaflet
Airfield Farm Windfactory is an ill
conceived onshore development, which, if approved by your
councillors, will damage the integrity of many rural villages.
It will undermine local infrastructure.
The advantages of wind energy claimed
and promoted by wind energy developers will not apply
to this proposal since it is located in one of the least
windy areas of the country. To date the Government has
not evolved a sustainable energy policy. Increasingly
people are realising the over-generous financial concessions
provided by the Government are leading to unsuitable
windfarm sites being selected.
Contrary to the information put out
by wind farm companies, a report published by the Dti
shows for the calendar year 2004, on-shore wind turbines
functioned on average at 26.6% of their potential annual
output (the corresponding figure for the far fewer off-shore
wind turbines was 24.2%). Using data available from Ofgem,
the figure for England for the same period was 23.8%
(for Scotland it was 27.7% and for Wales it was 27.1%).
Low wind speeds recorded in our area
show the Airfield Farm turbines will be operational for
well under any of these figures. For further information
see Wind Resource.
The flicker, glint and noise these massive
turbines generate cause local disruption. When the intrusion
gets too bad, residents frequently ask for them to be
switched off or the blade speed reduced. This means even
less energy is produced.
The social cost to communities includes
loss of amenity, destruction of landscape, reduction
in house prices, increased levels of stress and ill health,
and conflict between neighbours.
The physical impact of these turbines
on this beautiful corner, where the three counties of
of Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire
meet, will be wholly disproportionate to the minimal
gain in wind energy to the country. There is a vast array
of other renewable forms of electricity generation
the UK could readily harness – offshore wind, wave
power, tidal power, biofuel and biomass. Why are these
not given greater priority?
Fighting a campaign of this nature is
akin to David and Goliath. The collective power of wind
energy companies and government policy is enormous. Professional
public relations companies are employed by windfarm companies
to reassure nearby residents during the planning phase
and frequently succeed in selling the alleged benefits
of wind factories.
The spin encourages people to support
them. By the time the power station is under construction,
it is too late to do anything. Communities are forced
to start living with the difficulties, regretting they
did not play their part in preventing the turbines being
built in the first place. |
.gif)
