June 27, 2012
England

Pylon ‘potential’ for beauty spot

Lancashire Evening Post | www.lep.co.uk 27 June 2012

Energy bosses have set out a number of ‘potential scenarios’ for connecting wind farms by routing pylons through a Lancashire beauty spot.

Documents published by the Department of Energy and Climate Change have set out a series of potential future energy generation scenarios and how they might be met.

Among them is the potential for a new link from Quernmore, near Lancaster, across the Pennines to Bradford, carrying power from new Irish Sea wind farms, either through the Forest of Bowland or the Yorkshire Dales.

But National Grid said no plans in the pipeline and the report referred only to potential long-terms scenarios.

A consultation on the construction of pylons through the Forest of Bowland was abandoned after nuclear power plants plans were scrapped.

A National Grid spokesman, said: “In England and Wales, most new electricity generation will be sited on the coast or offshore, where there is very little transmission infrastructure.“

As custodian of the electricity transmission system, National Grid has to develop new electricity transmission routes where they are needed.

We always aim to follow national and international guidelines to preserve natural beauty, protect wildlife and maintain sites of architectural, historic or archaeological interest including National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Sites of Special Scientific Interest.

“As new projects are taken forward, all technologies are considered including overhead lines carried by pylons, underground cables, gas-insulated lines and undersea cables.

“We work closely with Electricity Networks Strategy Group and contribute to the reports on a quarterly basis which look at potential future generation scenarios.”

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/06/27/pylon-potential-for-beauty-spot/