March 24, 2014
Scotland

Report: ‘Contamination’ claim

The Press and Journal | 24 March 2014 |

Windfarms have contributed to contamination of the Scottish countryside, a new report has claimed.

Data released by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) shows that turbines have been responsible for more than 100 incidents in the last six years.

These include diesel spills, dirty rivers, blocked drains and excessive noise as well as the contamination of drinking water and the indiscriminate dumping of waste, with warning notices issued to a number of energy firms.

However officials at Sepa stressed not all 130 complaints were found to be a direct result of wind farms, with some caused by “agricultural and human activities” near sites and others still unsubstantiated.

A spokesman added: “While a number of these complaints have been in connection with individual windfarms these are generally during the construction phase of the development and relate to instances of increased silt in watercourses as a result of run-off from the site.”

In the past six years Sepa has investigated 130 pollution reports connected to windfarms or turbines.

In November 2011, 220 gallons of oil leaked from a turbine at the Clyde windfarm in Abington, Lanarkshire, resulting in an emergency clean-up operation.

Warning letters were sent by the environment agency to a number of operators, including Siemens, after another fuel spill at the same 152-turbine site four months later.

A report on that incident states: “Siemens maintained it was under control. However, operators who then visited the area did not see any action being taken and fuel ponding at the base of the generator.”

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2014/03/24/report-contamination-claim/