October 20, 2012
Scotland

Protesting turbine spread

Graham Brown | The Courier & Advertiser | 20 October 2012

Angus wind farm objectors are gathering today in support of a protest over the proliferation of turbine applications across the country.

Members of the Angus Communities Windfarm Action Group (ACWAG) will be backing a number of local campaign groups in Perthshire and Fife, which have organised the walk from Perth’s South Inch to the Fair City’s concert hall where SNP leader Alex Salmond will be making his keynote speech to the SNP party conference.

A spokesperson said ACWAG had been keen to support the invitation from GASPS (Gask and Strathearn Protection Society) to lend their weight to the Perth protest.

ACWAG has brought together groups from across Angus objecting to wind turbines, and through their acwag.org.uk website has been posting information on more than 90 existing or applied for Angus wind power sites.

“These groups who are fighting against the increasing number of turbines in Tayside, like many groups across Scotland, have been campaigning against the destruction of our rural environment,” said the spokesperson.

“Their common demand is that the Scottish and UK governments review their wind energy policy, calling a halt to all future developments until a reliable, affordable energy policy is made.

ACWAG added: “If Angus folk have a concern about protecting the Angus landscape – our much loved hills and lowlands – and have grave concerns about increasing energy bills, this is the opportunity to meet with people from all over Scotland.

“There is no point just saying this should not be allowed to happen, we need to work together and make sure the message goes out loud and clear to our elected representatives – both local councillors and national governments.

“A reliable, affordable energy policy is vital to everyone’s future.

“The lucrative subsidies sourced from consumers’ energy bills paid to landowners and developers are unsustainable and unaffordable for households and businesses.

“The rising energy costs are impacting not only on the fuel poor, elderly and disabled, but all households, on local jobs and our vital tourism industry.

Today’s event follows the disclosure that few of Scotland’s local authorities have detailed knowledge of the full cost of processing windfarm applications.

In the past five years, however, Orkney has spent £500,000 working on applications.

Three Scots councils have asked for a windfarm moratorium, a call echoed last month by the Mountaineering Council of Scotland in an attempt to protect key upland areas, especially around Munros and Corbetts.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/10/20/protesting-turbine-spread/