Letter: Why we must fight National Grid’s pylon plans
Wednesday 27th April 2011, 6:00AM BST.
Letter: Regarding the plans for power lines in Mid Wales and Shropshire. I am glad to see the prominence being given to this issue in the Shropshire Star.
It isn’t just larger communities like Abermule that are up in arms. More than 70 people from the tiny communities of Trefnanney, Sarnau and Penrhos, all close to the Vyrnwy Valley, got together last week to share information and agree the feedback to send to National Grid about its proposals.
If a substation was built at Cefn Coch, which is an alternative site to Abermule, a power line would run down the Vyrnwy Valley.
This would desecrate the lovely Meifod Valley and damage tourism and farming. There would be no economic benefit, either long or short term, to the communities that would be affected, so no jobs or other opportunities would be created.
So it is not helpful for a councillor from Abermule to ask for the substation to be built elsewhere. Everyone who is potentially affected in Mid Wales and Shropshire needs to stand together and oppose the construction of 50-metre high voltage power lines regardless of where a substation might be built. People are alarmed about the possibility of these power lines running close to where they live.
National Grid has an “undergrounding” option and many people would find this acceptable. It’s more expensive but everyone needs to realise that National Grid is not a public utility now; it’s a private company making astounding profits.
It is simply not acceptable for people in Mid Wales and Shropshire to pay in terms of reduced quality of life for bright lights elsewhere in the UK and the dividends paid to National Grid’s shareholders.
Stella Townsend
Llanymynech
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“It isn’t just larger communities like Abermule”
Abermule? Large? You couldnt make it up!
Pylons are needed by the majority, they have to go somehwere, just stop moaning and let a little thing called progress occur.
Who knows? Maybe with electricity the people of mid wales will find out all about the big cities of the world and realise that a population of a couple of hundred is not really a major international commerce hub.
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Andy, you and ignorant comes to mind on this subject.
It does not just have an impact on mid wales but goes on through a number of Shropshire villages and beyond. No we have no need what so ever for pylons why do you assume that? wind turbines again no need for these blots on the landscape either. The pylons will be a massive blot on the landscape and a health risk to anyone living near them . If this Andy is your idea of progress then what can anyone one say?.As for the so called big cities of the world personally I do not wish to know about them if I did I would live in one.
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You don’t understand – these pylons are not needed. They will be constructed as a legal requirement by the National Grid to transport the power produced by the planned wind farm.
A wind farm which would be built almost as far as possible from an existing grid connection! National Grid confirm that only Lands End is further from the existing network. RenewableUK (“The voice of wind and marine energy”) say that the first thing they look for when planning a wind farm is a nearby grid connection.
So who thought is would be a good idea to put it where millions of pounds will need to be spent constructing a major new grid extension? Paid for by us all in the form of increased electricity bills!
This supposed to reduce carbon output. How much carbon do you think will be emitted providing the thousands of tons of aluminium, steel and concrete needed to construct 20 acres of substation and 50km of pylons?
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The word used (which you quoted) was “larger”. In this case “larger” than the “tiny communities” mentioned in the text. Only you used the word “large”.
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No the pylons DON’T “have to go somewhere”. The wind energy source itself is inefficient, requiring constant backup from fossil fuels, so the entire exercise is pointless in the first place. And destroying a priceless and finite national resource, the landscape, is progress, is it?You come across as an unbalanced teenager, Andy, just trying to be controversial. Or are you perhaps the First Minister of Wales, writing under a pseudonym? That’s about the level of the Cardiff mini-politicians.
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Face facts, this is a fait accompli! The only decision to be made is the route of the power lines and the location of the sub station….NOT power station!
The protesting web sites are both amature and sensationalist clearly designed to instill fear rather than provide facts.
The sabre rattling by MP’s & local memebers is a pointless exercise…a band wagon jumped upon to gain public support!
Get a grip…it’s not the end of the world!
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It’s not a fait accompli if enough people protest, and protest hard enough. The UK Goverment made a major U-turn recently on the proposed sell-off of public forests, and it can make a U-turn here too.
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Charles, I think you will find it is!
The protests are based on emotion rather than realism and therefore has no validity whatsoever.
‘We don’t want them here!’ is not and will never be a valid arguement. A few placard waving locals are not going to stop progress.
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Please see my points made above, regarding the stupidity of the wind farm location and the huge carbon footprint of constructing the new grid connection and cost thereof. In what way is that an emotional argument? In what way is sighting the turbines as far as possible from the existing grid “progress”? Do you think there aren’t plenty of windy hills in North Wales, South Wales or England, which are already criss-crossed by the Grid? This make no environmental or economic sense!
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Presumably not going to be in your vista then?
Pylons aren’t needed by anyone , the electricity is.
The underground option is feasible just expensive, and as Stella Townsend points out , this isn’t a national utility , it’s a private company who last year made £1.36 Billion profit.They can afford to bury it.They won’t if no-one protests.
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That’s stunning logic Andy! Maybe you should utilise your big city surplus of new fangled electricty and progress to an education!
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No the pylons DON’T “have to go somewhere”. They are entirely unnecessary, because the wind energy source that they are serving is itself inefficient, requiring constant back up from fossil fuel sources. So the entire exercise is pointless in the first place.
And destroying the landscape for no useful purpose isn’t “progress”. Not on any normal understanding of that word anyway.
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The plan to route these pylons and install wind farms in Mid Wales and Shropshire makes sense to the big landowners and power companies who will make £millions from nonsensical Government subidies.
Putting the cables underground may cost more but not much more in the overall scheme of things and would be so much more environmentally friendly, after all thats where gas and water pipes go.
Why does the Government not realise wind turbines are such a waste of money because they are so inefficient and a tremendous eyesore in rural areas
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Do the protesters want the lights to go o
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Do the protesters want the lights to go o[ut]?
Not specifically, but a few good power cuts like the ones I remember as a teenager in the ’70s might concentrate a few minds on the need for a proper energy policy instead of these rubbish windfarms!
And let’s not forget that this windfarm nonsense comes originally from the EU. The stupidest thing I ever did as a teenager was to vote in favour of Britain staying in the EEC in 1975 (but I suppose we’re all wise after the event).
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The trouble with windfarms is the power is not continuous and could stop at any t
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Yes, the power from wind turbines does stop at any time, just like your comments.
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Whilst the people of Shropshire and Wales stand to lose valuable land and visual amenity from this scheme, the owners of the wind farms stand to make substantial gains. The National Grid may claim that putting cables underground is too expensive but they seem to spare no expense in protecting the owners of the wind farms. On the night of April 5th-6th high winds in Scotland resulted in too much energy being produced. As a result six Scottish wind farms were paid up to £300,000 each to stop producing energy. Another scandalous diversion of public money into private hands!
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