Wind Power News: U.K.
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law.
Wind turbine on fire in Aberdeenshire as black smoke fills sky near St Cyrus
A wind turbine is on fire in a field in Aberdeenshire – with shocking footage caught by a passing bus driver showing the blazing machinery. A five second clip caught by Stagecoach driver Scott Galloway shows black smoke flooding into the sky from the burning turbine while yellow flames coming from below the blades just north of St Cyrus. Scott told Aberdeen Live that he had caught sight of the blaze when passing the area in his bus at around . . . Complete story »
Family of man who froze to death after being stranded at wind farm awarded £860k
Ronnie Alexander, 74, got stuck in a snow storm at Afton wind farm in Scotland and died of hypothermia after his cabin generator failed and left him without heat or electricity. Complete story »
Hypocrisy of felling trees for windfarms
I don’t understand the logic of Welsh Minister for Climate Change Julie James in proposing to erect more gigantic wind turbines in upland woodland areas of Wales First of all , the Welsh Government is telling Welsh people to plant millions of trees to absorb CO2 in the fight against global warming. Yet here is the Welsh Government felling millions of trees to make room for huge wind farms on forestry land owned by the Welsh people, not the Welsh . . . Complete story »
Staff in Scots mutiny plot as green jobs lost to cheap foreign labour
British-based workers are planning a mutiny as protests erupt over a scandal of cheap foreign labour replacing them to serve Scotland’s green revolution, the Herald on Sunday can reveal. The row has emerged as UK-based staff on board Balder, the world’s first semi-submersible crane vessel serving the creation of one of Scotland’s biggest offshore wind farms have had their contracts terminated following the extension of the Offshore Wind Workers Concession (OWWC) rules which allows the employment of cheaper foreign nationals . . . Complete story »
Harrowing testimonies from people forced to live in the turbine shadows — pray energy firms aren’t eyeing up land near you
Every so often a glossy pamphlet pops through the letter boxes in the Kirkcudbrightshire village of Carsphairn. It gives residents the latest construction news on one of the new wind farms soon to have the community surrounded. For Nigel Martin it is like receiving regular updates on the advance of monsters from science fiction – triffids, perhaps, or tripods from The War of the Worlds – and being expected to welcome their looming presence. He and fellow villagers fought tooth . . . Complete story »
Crane failure has delayed Scotland’s Seagreen wind project
The UK-based utility company SSE has announced in its half-year reports that its flagship Seagreen offshore wind project has been delayed due to “crane failure”. SSE had to fork out £57 million in costs relating to the delay of its offshore wind project after an incident involving the Saipem 7000 installation vessel. The Saipem 7000 was reported encountered issues earlier this year in Norway,during planned maintenance, dropping two cargo barges into the sea during load testing and causing the 198-metre . . . Complete story »
You can’t get round there being no wind power when there’s no wind
The premise that wind energy will lead to lower electricity costs is one that I believe fails the credibility test. There is no solution that compensates for the fact that there is no wind power when the wind does not blow. If we are to have security of electricity supply, we additionally need gas and/or nuclear-generating capacity equal to UK peak demand. Either that or the lights will definitely start going out – and frequently. Having to maintain this parallel . . . Complete story »
Fears over trace metals found in burn near Viking Energy site
Viking Energy has been accused of making “hollow” promises about protecting the environment after trace metals from its construction site were found in a nearby burn. SSE admitted to The Shetland Times there bad been an “increase in certain metals/minerals detected in water sample points” in the Burn of Lunklet, near Aith and East Burrafirth within the last six weeks. The energy giant has been fo~ to inform the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) and the planning official monitoring the . . . Complete story »
Labour will tear up planning restrictions against onshore windfarms, Starmer says
A Labour government would rip up planning rules restricting the expansion of onshore windfarms as part of a plan to make the UK a clean energy superpower, the Guardian has learned. Keir Starmer admitted that he would have to “persuade some communities to get on board” after Rishi Sunak reinstated a ban, dropped by Liz Truss, on new onshore projects amid fears of local objections. The Labour leader has already pledged to double the amount of onshore wind capacity, one . . . Complete story »
How many jobs will offshore wind bring to Scotland?
There has long been a wind of promise attached to renewables, with each new development bringing with it the pledge of jobs for Scotland – but too often that has turned to disappointment. Such was the case when Seagreen awarded all of the contracts for manufacture of the jacket foundation structures to overseas companies, in the United Arab Emirates and China, rather than Burntisland Fabrications, or BiFab, the local yard – which later went into administration. Too often it has . . . Complete story »
