January 14, 2014
England

Environment secretary address wind turbine concerns

Berwick Advertiser | 14 January 2014 | www.berwick-advertiser.co.uk

Environment secretary Owen Paterson visited Northumberland last Saturday to meet local campaigners concerned about the impact of giant wind turbines on local communities.

Figures show that Northumberland already has the largest share of installed wind capacity compared to other English counties, generating 12 per cent of the total. Campaigners are concerned about the long term effects of wind farms and that further installations will damage the local tourism industry which is over 30% of the local economy.

Mr Paterson was accompanied by Anne-Marie Trevelyan, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Berwick. Anne-Marie has long campaigned against large onshore ‘wind factories’ which do little to address UK renewable energy targets but instead push up energy bills and damage the local tourism industry.

Mr Paterson said it is important that campaigners’ voices are heard.

He said: “It was great to be back in such a beautiful part of the world and I am grateful to Anne-Marie for the opportunity to meet local activists who have been campaigning on this issue for many years.

“While we all acknowledge the need to embrace renewable energy in a sustainable way, that helps us meet our national targets, it is equally important that local considerations, such as the impact on businesses and the landscape, are taken into account. Above all, it’s vital that local voices are heard.”

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2014/01/14/environment-secretary-address-wind-turbine-concerns/