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Anti-wind farm group highlight turbine break-up
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Campaigners fighting plans for a windfarm on a site at Gathercauld near Ceres have highlighted the very recent spectacular destruction of a large wind turbine located on a site in Denmark.
A video recently placed on website “YouTube”, graphically shows the complete disintegration of the turbine head, blades and half the tower only a short time after engineers had been inside the structure trying to repair it.
The issue of turbine safety has again been raised by Graham Lang, of the Ceres and District Environment and Amenity Protection Group, who has already highlighted recent collapses in Argyll and in Cumbria.
“The Danish incident occurred during a storm when the braking system failed, and it was not an old turbine. A 19 metre piece of the blade was thrown 20 metres away, and smaller pieces were sent more than 500 metres.
“At the proposed Gathercauld site the Ceres to Baldinnie road is 200 metres from the nearest turbine and 4 are within 500 metres.
“A small piece of metal flying a few hundred metres at high velocity hitting a car or a cyclist on the nearby road would probably have fatal consequences. A turbine disintegrating happened there and could happen here” said Mr Lang.
Last week the applicant behind the Ceres proposal, EnergieKontor, lost a planning appeal relating to a site at Rossie near Auchtermuchty on grounds of noise and visual amenity.
Mr Lang said that the group had now been advised by a Fife council planning official that the Ceres application, which involves five 80 metre high turbines overlooking the village, is scheduled for consideration by the North East Fife Area Committee of Fife Council on Wednesday April 2nd.
“We understand that environmental services now have all the information that they need to prepare a report and make a recommendation to the planning committee.
“There are many similarities between the Auchtermuchty wind farm proposal and the one we are opposed to here, near Ceres, and the reporter’s decision is encouraging.
“Interestingly, in terms of issues to be addressed, EnergieKontor saw the two sites as much the same and decided there was no need to ask for a scoping opinion from Fife Council so the Reporter’s reasons for refusal at Rossie are equally relevant in terms of development plan, landscape and noise issues” he said .
Recently the Ministry of Defence made it clear that it is maintaining its objections to the proposals at Ceres amid fears that the turbines could interfere with vital radar signals for military aircraft.
Gordon Berry
The Courier
27 February 2008
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