March 4, 2008
England
England
Plans for a giant, single wind turbine at Glyndebourne opera house in Sussex will today be condemned by countryside protection groups as “the wrong scheme in the wrong place”.
“One of the most tranquil areas of southern England is to be sacrificed for modest gains,” Tom Oliver, head of policy at the Campaign to Protect Rural England will tell a public inquiry into plans for the 70m (230ft) turbine.
The turbine is one of several proposals by the world-famous opera house to reduce its carbon footprint and energy use. It attracts nearly 100,000 visitors a year. Gus Christie, director of the opera house, has told the inquiry that the 850KW turbine could generate the equivalent of the entire opera house’s annual electricity consumption, reducing its emissions by nearly 70%.
He has been supported at the inquiry by the naturalist and wildlife broadcaster David Attenborough. But opposition has mounted, reflecting national division over onshore wind power. Organisations opposed include, beside the CPRE, Natural England, the government’s conservation advisers, the South Downs Society, the Council for National Parks and the Ramblers’ Association.
John Vidal, environment editor
5 March 2008
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2008/03/04/countryside-groups-condemn-turbine-at-glyndebourne/