January 12, 2012
England

Somerset wind farm plans ‘scaled back’

BBC News, www.bbc.co.uk 12 January 2012

Controversial plans for a wind farm near a village in Somerset have been scaled back, according to developers.

Broadview Energy Limited wanted to build six 140m (459ft) turbines on land east of the M5, about 1km (0.6 miles) south of Rooksbridge.

Now the company is planning to submit an application for four, 130m (426ft) turbines at the Pilrow site instead.

But campaigners opposed to the scheme say “90% of villagers do not want these things here at all”.

Nick Woolmington, from the No Pilrow campaign, said: “It may have started out as a question of nimby-ism but people are beginning to realise that we’re getting 130m high towers now within 500m of people’s homes.”

Olly Buck, from Broadview Energy, said there would be “a visual impact” but the turbines were “designed to respond in the best possible manner to the environment”.

“Turbines are large structures, that is a factor of their whole purpose of harnessing the wind.

“And we aren’t going to be able to please everybody but we have to make sure we design the best possible project for the area and we believe we have done that.”

The company said it hoped to submit a planning application for the development in the coming weeks.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/01/12/somerset-wind-farm-plans-scaled-back/