December 1, 2010
England

New plans submitted for giant wind farm

www.southwestbusiness.co.uk 1 December 2010

Revised plans for a giant windfarm on Davidstow Moor have been on display locally, but the changes do not appear to have shifted local opinion.

Community Windpower Ltd (CWL), from Cheshire, whose original plans were rejected by Cornwall Council in July, held public displays of their new proposals at Tremail and Camelford on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The number of turbines has been reduced from 20 to 16 but the power output of each turbine has been increased from 2.5MW to 3MW by increasing the diameter of the swept area from 95m to 101m, without adding to the overall height of 126.5 metres.

A smaller, 100kW, turbine has been added to give a 48.1MW total capacity. The profit for one year (£30,000) from this turbine would be given to the community around Camelford.

Karen Briggs, treasurer of Stop Turbines in North Cornwall (STINC) says realistic visualisations are essential to ensure that members of the public have a clear picture of the impact this industrialisation will have on Bodmin Moor, Roughtor and Brown Willy.

Arthur Boyt, the chairman of STINC, accused the company of not being concerned that 16,000 starlings would be killed per year, as predicted in the developer’s environmental impact assessment.

Mr Boyt says the company has agreed that if bird deaths exceed 250 per day the turbines will be switched off.

“This raises the question of what if 240 birds per day are killed? Will that be OK?.” Starlings are on the red list of birds of conservation concern.

The Be Green shop in Camelford is funded by “Community” Windpower Ltd and is part of their standard practice across the UK, when seeking planning approval for their huge developments which yield millions of pounds in profits.

STINC and their supporters say they found that the majority of people who called in to the consultations were opposed to the development.

STINC says the unique landscape of Roughtor and Brown Willy would be desecrated by turbines that would also endanger the immense flocks of starlings that roost in the area and the golden plover that feed in the fields.

Ron Muckleston, energy advisor at the BeGreen shop in Camelford, says negotiation are continuing with the council over the visualisations.

He said there were no accurate figures regarding the numbers of birds in danger, but if they reached an agreed number the turbines would be shut down.

STINC will be consultees in any subsequent planning application for wind turbines at this site which is within an AONB and a designated SSSI.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2010/12/01/new-plans-submitted-for-giant-wind-farm/