Wind turbines 'smaller' than power station cooling towers
Controversial plans for a windfarm at Tween Bridges, near Thorne, were discussed at a meeting in Doncaster last week.
The discussion, organised by Doncaster Council Watch at Doncaster Central Library, was led by Tony McCready, who focused on issues surrounding the proposed wind farm.
Mr McCready stated that Robin Hood Airport had concerns about their flight paths over the wind farm area. He said: “Static noise could bounce off the wind turbines from the airport, which could affect incoming aircraft.” He also stated that the wind farm would trigger a safety element in that the airport would have to become more sophisticated with its radar systems.
Mr McCready also claimed that wind farms could ‘wreck lives’ if the project were mismanaged or poorly-sited. However, thorough research and ensuring that a wind farm was properly sited could mean that farmers would benefit. He said: “The farmers will receive £7,000 for having one turbine on their land, so they stand to make a lot of money.
“However, it is a worry to farmers who will be passing down their land, as the ground would be left with massive foundations in place if new methods of producing renewable energy are eventually developed.” The foundations are 15 metres across and three metres deep.
He added: “The community would also benefit from having a wind farm because the energy company would put money back into the community.”
It was pointed out that the concrete foundations would not contaminate the land in the same way as toxic waste would if a landfill site were put in place and therefore many farmers would be happy to have one turbine on their land.
Mr McCready also stated that despite residents’ concerns over the appearance of the turbines, the tip of the turbine would actually be ten-metres lower than the top of the cooling towers at Drax Power Station.
Turbines ‘better’ than landfill site
Mr Tim Knowles, a campaigner for DeRAIL in Doncaster, a group of residents who have been campaigning against inappropriate landfill, said: “We are not against a wind farm in the area as such, because it would be much better than having a huge landfill site on the area.”
The inquiry comes to an end on Friday, with closing submissions from all parties throughout this week at The Vikings Hotel.
14 June 2007
Tags: Wind power, Wind energy
Some possibly related stories:
The copyright of this article is owned by the author or publisher indicated. Its availability here constitutes a "fair use" as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law as well as in similar "fair dealing" exceptions of the copyright laws of other nations, as part of National Wind Watch's effort to advance understanding of the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development. For more information, click here.
