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Mid Wales pylons and turbines ‘worst piece of planning ever’
Wednesday 27th April 2011, 11:29AM BST.
Plans which could see a massive substation and huge pylons built across rolling countryside have today been branded the “worst piece of planning to ever impact on Mid Wales”.
Richard Bonfield, from Kerry, near Newtown, and a member of the STOP and HALT groups fighting the plans by the National Grid, said the proposals would have “enormous environmental impacts” on villages.
He claimed each turbine would be the equivalent of the height of the London Eye, and would require a concrete pad the size of an Olympic swimming pool.
He also claimed wind turbines were an ineffective way to produce power.
He said: “The national UK 2010 energy statistics for onshore windfarm generation were released by the Department of Climate Control (DECC) on March 31.
“Across the UK nationally – the capacity fell from 28 per cent to 21.4 per cent despite an overall increase of 14 per cent in new turbines coming on stream in 2010.
“Wales failed miserably reducing from 23.4 per cent to under 18 per cent capacity with one windfarm in the Carno area only producing 15 per cent.
“The current proposals from National Grid are a result of possibly the worst piece of planning to ever impact on Mid Wales.
“We estimate that 40 per cent of Mid Wales will be permanently blighted unless we take action now.”
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We can thank our former inaffective AM who was opposed to wind farms and for not working with tan8 (a uk govt imposed doccument for renewable energy planning)
He could have encouraged energy companies to invest in his constituency with other forms of renewable energy projects to meet the goals of tan8 (reduction of carbon emissions and set percentages of producing 15% of our energy needs from renewables)
Thanks to him doing nothing except moan, we now have many wind farms in Powys which need a new power line to cope with the electricity produced. (on pylons or underground)
A huge honour and privilage to be elected – what a waste of tax money he was! – All mouth, no trousers!
And national grid have not ruled out using under ground cables either. People have to request this on their consultation packs. The message is not getting out as people are being mis-led by the leaders of this campaign.
They are orgainising a protest to the WAG, but WAG have no powers devolved to do anything about this. The UK govt will give this project the green light.
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WIND FARMS
• Don’t save as much CO2 as suggested
• 1 ton magnets inside each turbine are expensive & hazardous.
• Won’t prevent need for conventional backup
• Much higher electricity costs compared to convention power stations.
• Need conventional power stations to back them up for when the wind does not blow enough.
• Massive environmental visual impact, not considered by TAN 8
• Threat to tourism
• Costing UK government and electricity consumers billions of pounds in subsidies in times of government cut backs, rising inflation, and fuel poverty
• Will do little to address energy security problems
• Unfair burden on WALES (40% of landscape blighted by turbines, power lines and hub)
• Unacceptable number of abnormal loads and thousands of other highways movements over several years of construction
• Reduction in property value, no compensation offered
• Removal of large areas of peat for ‘Olympic pool size’ foundations will increase flooding issues downstream
PYLONS
Only needed because of wind farms
• Massive environmental and visual impact, not considered by TAN 8
• Reluctance to underground
• EMF health risks – precautionary approach is not being taken
• Threat to tourism
• Huge loss of power during transmission of electricity because of distance to UK supergrid
• Even greater losses of power along 132kV system that 400kV system per km length because of lower voltage
• Greater overall lengths of 132kV and 400kV lines because hub is not located close enough to the wind farms Strategic Search Areas
• Unacceptable volume of construction traffic
• Reduction in property value, no compensation offered
HUB
Only needed because of wind farms
• Visually obtrusive
• EMF health risks – precautionary approach is not being taken
• Hub at Abermule is too close to large residential community
• Transport issues have not been identified or addressed. How will the 250 tonne abnormal loads (transformer) get to the remote hills of Cefn Coch or to Abermule over a listed bridge and a hump backed railway bridge in Abermule?
• Huge numbers of normal HGV movements during construction have not been identified.
• Cost of road upgrading & repair will be met by the tax payers / Powys County council.
• Reduction in property value, no compensation offered.
• Poor consultation – misrepresentation of the facts. (No photos of hub or pylons at Abermule Consultation) No opportunity to view alternative sites, removed from web site and not at exhibitions
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Nowhere in tan8 does it say 100% of our electric must come from wind farms
Nowhere in tan8 does it state only wind farms can be built to provide renewable energy.
Thanks Glyn for doing nothing for the 15 plus years of this UK govt enforced document. (which are guidelines only, not policy)
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TAN 8 is not a Uk gov policy it is WAG policy and is set out by the WAG. If you dont know this you shouldnt be commenting on the article. TAN 8 gives 7 areas of Wales over to mass wind farm construction-hence the mad plans that have been going on since TAN 8 was introduced in 2005 under the Labour WAG gov. It was always the plan that wind farms would meet nearly all the renewable energy targets as they were/are the most easy way to tick box targets, although they are actually a giant con. TAN 8 only came about after the labour WAG commissioned ARUP to identify the areas where they could build large scale wind farms. TAN 8 was always about wind farms and nothing else.
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Sam,
I am sorry to remind you but glyn has not been our AM for years: he was a list AM 1999-07. We have had the pleasure of being represented by Mick Bates since 1999. Tan 8 was drawn up on his watch and he welcomed it. Glyn has consistently opposed large scale windfarming- I am not a Tory but his stance on this is principled. He has never held directorships of windfarm companies- Mick cannot say the same. But the blame game is useless; we need to work together to save mid-Wales
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Dont blame Glyn Davies, blame the others before him & the people in authority now who should have informed the Powys poulation before even 1 wind mill went up.
We were ill informed or non informed as the case seems to be.
Better late than never.
If the WAG cannot stop this nonsense we will rally at Westminster with other UK groups & stop this nonsense.
We will win!
The snowball is rolling!
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