Plans for wind farms across the country have met opposition from various parties, despite a notable swing in public opinion towards the use of renewable energy. Residents in the Market Harborough area, Leicestershire, have submitted a petition bearing 500 names to Harborough District Council opposing plans for a wind farm between the villages of Swinford and Walcote. Campaigners from the Stop the Swinford Wind Farm Action Group have been petitioning against renewable energy firm Nuon UK's plans to install eleven 125m tall wind turbines in the area. Both the council and the energy firm have acknowledged concerns from the action group and are considering the future for the wind farm plans.
A similar petition in the Borders area of Scotland this week failed its campaign to stop the development of a windfarm three miles west of the town of Ashkirk. The £25million project at Langhope Rig was given the go-ahead after a five-day public inquiry rejected letters claiming that the wind turbines would ruin a place of natural beauty. Energy company Airtricity won the right to build ten 400ft turbines on the site in an appeal to the Scottish Government, after the plans were initially rejected by Scottish Borders Council. Protesters claimed that there was huge opposition to the farm, which they said would be an eyesore in a place of utter tranquillity, whilst a Scottish Government survey suggested that over half the population supported the wind farm which would provide electricity for up to 12,00 homes.
Offshore windfarms received a boost last week when the Queen pledged to invest in the largest offshore wind turbine in the world, as well as other planned windfarms off the coast of Scotland. Her Majesty's property company, The Crown Estate, made the announcement at the All-Energy Conference in Aberdeen on Wednesday (21st May). The world's largest offshore wind turbine, Clipper's 7.5 megawatt MBE turbine, will be built by the Californian energy company Clipper Windpower as part of the $65million Britannia project. The giant turbine will be assembled and tested at the company's Centre of Excellence for Offshore Wind in Blyth where a smaller windfarm already exists. The turbine will be operational by 2010 and in its 30 year life it will sell electricity to the national grid to the equivalent of one million barrels of oil. This is one of many breakthroughs in wind energy technology taking place in UK waters. The Crown Estate recently announced that they had leased the rights for the Greater Gabbard windfarm located off the coast of Suffolk in the Thames Estuary. The windfarm will consist of 140 wind turbines, sufficient to power nearly 416,000 homes. Energy Minister Jim Mather is said to be delighted with The Crown Estate's offshore leasing to develop renewable energy around the Scottish coast.
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This post was written by Grace Simpson on May 26, 2008