As one who lives within two miles of the proposed Newlands Wind Farm I have read carefully the community newsletter distributed by Bolsterstone Plc which will be building these three massive wind turbines and making money out of them for the next 25 years.
The newsletter states that windfarms are ‘one of the most reliable and cost-effective renewable generation technologies’.
This makes me wonder whether a company that makes such absurd claims is fit to be involved in this important project.
Even a child can see that a method of generation that depends on the right wind speed is inherently unreliable.
The lights would go out and the power would go off very often if we had to depend on windfarms.
The claim about cost-effectiveness is almost equally ridiculous.
These turbines would not be built unless there was a considerable element of government subsidy, although the proponents of these schemes prefer to use the word ‘incentives’.
The newsletter promises that, if planning permission is received, the local community will benefit by £15,000 a year over the next 25 years.
Yet this is taxpayers’ money.
It comes out of the pockets of local residents, among others, and some of these residents will find that their homes have been seriously devalued by these turbines which will reach a height of 350ft.
Who has asked the locals whether they want to be overshadowed by these monsters?
The answer is no-one.
The money has been taken from us by a Government that seems determined to ruin our beautiful Cumbrian landscape. When they talk about reducing pollution they conveniently ignore the visual pollution they are imposing on us.
I attended the public exhibition at Cumwhinton Village Hall and communicated a brief message to the representatives of Bolsterstone Plc.
It was just two words: “Go away”.
If the planners allow this appalling development, maybe the residents of Cumwhinton, Scotby and Wetheral should withhold their council tax en masse.
The prisons are full, so where would they put us?
Most of us want to be law-abiding citizens, but there comes a point at which we can’t take any more.
We have almost reached that point.
DR CHARLES HANSON
Wetheral
Carlisle
6 June 2008
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2008/06/06/wind-turbines-are-neither-reliable-nor-cost-effective/