MP Glyn Davies to highlight pylons plan concerns
Friday 6th May 2011, 11:29AM BST.
Montgomeryshire MP Glyn Davies will lead a debate in Parliament next week over plans which could see hundreds of pylons built across Shropshire and Mid Wales.
Mr Davies will be raising the issue on Tuesday because he believes it is of national importance.
It comes weeks after National Grid bosses announced they would be holding consultations across the region to find a potential route for a 400,000 volt cable, using either 46-metre high pylons or by routing the wires underground.
The cable could connect wind farms in Mid Wales to the National Grid. Plans also include a substation in either Abermule, near Newtown, or Cefn Coch, near Llanfair Caereinion.
Mr Davies, from Berriew, near Welshpool, said: “I will be speaking not only about the pylons and substation but also about windfarms too because I feel it is something that needs to raised before it’s too late.”
Dozens of public National Grid exhibitions have already been held with one taking place at Welshpool Town Hall today between 2pm and 8pm.
Meanwhile, the National Grid has announced it has extended the consultation period and it will now close on June 20. In addition, a further five public exhibitions have been organised in Shropshire and Powys.
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Wind farms, Hubs and Pylons.
I have no problem with having wind farms and Hubs in the right place and for the right reason. What I do object to is the blot on the landscape which is the 400kv pylon. These massive structure are 46 metres, nearly 150 ft high and during the building/ operating phases will wreck havoc with the local economy, tourism; wildlife and ruin the beautiful rural vistas. Mid Wales and Shropshire are two of the most beautiful landscapes we have in the UK and there is a way of perserving them. Put all the 132kv and 400kv connection cables underground. Let’s face it France do it; Germany do it and even cash strapped Spain can do it – so why not the UK. Point is – we do ! Many areas in the UK have had, or are having these 440kv cables put underground, the Wirral is currently having this done. Yes it is more costly in the short term but it will stop these unsightly pylons being erected throughout our cherished countryside. Let’s carry on being a developed country – but please develope in the right way. Go underground.
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agreed.
Placing the cables underground will result in a 1% rise in our electricity bills to cover the costs of doing so. (source: govt web site ‘they work for us’) a small price to pay for piece of mind.
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It is not only the pylons that are out of place in Mid Wales. The turbine developers want to erect up to 800 turbines on our hillsides with these new turbines being 120 metres in height. If these are built, we can wave goodbye to our tourism industry and watch our house values tumble. Who would want to visit when abnormal loads carrying wind turbine parts will be trundling along the main roads at 15 mph for the next 7 years, and major construction of wind farms, power lines, electricity hubs and road widening will be happening everywhere you turn.
Re: Beautiful vistas – 40% of Mid Wales will be visually blighted by this monstrous industrialisation.
The whole problem is caused by the mindless thrust to errect these ineficient wind turbines that only generate 18% of their stated power output.
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@ stop.
Having lived and worked here (near to exiting wind farms) all my life, I throw out your comments as petty NIMBY-ism!
You only have to ‘google’ the words windfarms / tourism / urban myths – in any order to find thousands upon thousands of the NIMBY excuses are just scare tactics to gain support to your cause. When it comes to the crunch, if you argue your case with these, then these myths will just be brushed aside by experts who have done extensive research into all of them.
Wind farms do not deter tourism. Various UK Govt studies show that high percentages of tourists are not put off by wind farms. The huge majority of studies show percentages well into the 90′s and higher finding tourists approve of wind farms. Many studies show that more than 70% of tourists would visit a wind farm if a information centre was built.
A study of the Cemmaes wind farm showed 92% of tourists were not bothered by the look of the turbines.
Wind farms have allowed greater access to the countryside by the provision of improved access tracks to which ramblers, cyclists and families are taking advantage of and thus opening up new tourism options.
In Denmark, eco-tourism has become a brand new booming industry in it’s own right with many using their holiday experience as educational in helping people realize a sustainable future.
In Cornwall, the first commercial wind farm at Delabole, received 60,000 visitors at it’s visitors centre in it’s first year and over 350,000 in it’s first eight years of operation. A massive boost to their local businesses.
A north Cornwall tourists survey, 94% stated the presence of wind farms had no impact on them visiting Cornwall again. Only one person stated that wind farms would discourage them from visiting that particular area again.
There are many more examples I could express here too.
Here, in areas where there are existing wind farms, house prices are not effected by wind farms and they are already out of the reach of many local wage packets; leaving them open to being snapped up as second homes and holiday lets, which will have a massive negative impact on local businesses and vital services such as schools etc.
As for the transport of the turbine/hub components, you make out that there will be huge convoys 24/7. This will not be the case.
Everybody knows that Mid Wales is in urgent need of major road improvements. This I welcome for the whole rural economy to grow! We’ve seen far too many job loses in our towns, with no incentive for new companies to set up here with the existing, out-dated infrastructure.
If we are to believe that 40% be “blighted” you had better recalculate to allow for ugly caravan parks and log cabin resorts which are expanding and cropping up in areas close to existing wind farms here(and have done for decades) While these bring seasonal benefits to our economy, our business and services can not rely solely on tourism.
I am guessing your calculations for output are done on old, smaller wind turbines. the newer proposed wind farm sites will have greater output and greater potential to achieve more.
Remember, wind farms are only going to be placed in areas where there is high volume of wind and where visual impact will be as minimal as possible. Modern studies can pick out the best spots to place wind turbines as conducted by advanced technology.
As for the new power routes, there are consultations happening in every town and village for people to have input into the best route. Underground cables have not been ruled out either and your best option is to campaign hard for this, especially near dwellings and places of interest with visual impact the best argument to win the cause. Your MP and AM can do alot more than just moan to assist this by meeting with national grid. By this, not just talking to the hired staff at the consultations, but with the big bosses at national grid HQ.
UK govt targets to reduce carbon emissions and generate a set percentage of of electricity needs from renewable energy will push through the wind farm plans, power routes and hub. As recent as last week, prime minister David Cameron was championing wind farms and the economic benefits they bring to areas. This is not an area that the Welsh assembly have any devolved powers over.
As much as I support your cause for underground cables I also support a greater diverse need for renewable investment, especially in this area of Wales that has been neglected of investment and development for decades under various governments.
The UK govt are attracting £100bn worth of outside investment and creating millions of jobs (short term and full time) in this expanding renewable industry. The positives outweigh the negatives.
I’m not here to change anyones mind on this issue, I just feel the need for everyone to be fully informed on issues that effect us all.
While my comments are not what everyone wants to hear, it is better to get the facts out there rather than have the wool pulled over our eyes being told things that we only want to hear.
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Well Sam- you give some of the facts but not all-the current campaign is about PYLONS-the link with wind-reliant power stations aka windfarms is inescapable but lets concentrate on the PYLONS-well respected research published in 2010 did indeed show that people weren’t put off by the look of wind farms- but they were put off from return visits by the appearance of PYLONS and POWERLINES-so accept that tourism income will go down. There are villages in Mid Wales which have regenerated over the last two decades because of the presence of a caravan park; they now have shop and a street light ! lets not see these modern amenities disappear. Now lets talk about farming: milk yields down, additional farm equipment needed because of low hanging cables, more difficult crop management because of PYLON bases.Result ? reduced income. The question i want you to ask yourself is this: is it right that people in an area, Powys, with one of the lowest household incomes in the UK should subsidise the cost of energy production for the rest of the UK with their lost income? I look forward to your answer.
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Yes I do think that we here in Powys should generate green energy for the UK.
Is it right that we pay our taxes to fight illegal wars in order to secure oil to produce our energy needs? Or people somewhere else in Wales have to live under a nuclear power station so we can have electricity here? Yet you continue to scream NOT IN MY BACK YARD! Yes it would be wonderful if electricity produced in an area of the UK was used in that particular area, but this does not happen nationally.
I can not buy into your statement of lost income though as this will not happen if cables are placed underground. (as is happening in other parts of the UK) Re farming: Land owners will surely be compensated for this temporary blip? so no lost income there. Happy to read that national grid have not ruled out underground cables either!
I am fed up with my energy bills constantly rising due to the rising costs of importing fossil fuels from unstable countries and sad that we have lost so many lives in an illegal war where we now have access to oil from.
I will always be opposed to the pylons on a visual aspect only and I have attended a consutation event and I’m in the process of filling in the forms. I will never be opposed to renewable energy. even if it is in my back yard.
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@ sam
Further to your reply to STOP I throw out your comments as mindless propaganda. I too have lived and worked here all my life but unlike you I do not want it destroyed.
You say Wind farms do not deter tourism and tourists are not put off by wind farms – well that pretty much depends on the type of tourism. Tourists who have gone to see theme parks, beaches etc will not be put off by wind farms but that is not the sort of tourism we have in Mid Wales. Here we depend on people coming for the beauty, tranquility, ruralness – all of which will be destroyed by these wind farms and their associated mile upon mile of ugly pylons.
People convieniently forget that the wind farms do not come on their own. They seem to think that wind farms consist of a few little windmills on a remote hillside. They forget that the tiny amount of electicity (and that is a separate arguement) that wind farms produce has to get to the National Grid which can be (and is in this case) about 30 miles away. That distance is going to be covered with pylons over 150 foot tall every few hundred metres. There is no thought for all the communities affected along the route.
They also (convieniently) forget that these wind farms STILL need to have conventional power stations on line as backup for when the wind does not blow at the right speed. I think anyone who is in favour of wind farms should be made to have their home powered by wind (and only wind) for a whole year – they would soon change their minds. I am sick of supporters of wind farms bleeting on that turbines save the amount of carbon taken to make them in a couple of months of operation as if the making of the turbine represents the total carbon footprint of wind farms. To get the total carbon footprint of a wind farm you have to consider EVERYTHING necessary for that wind farm to operate – that includes not only making the turbines but transporting them, all the infrastructure work for siting the turbines, building all the massive steel pylons to transport the power, all the cable to transport the power, additional substations to transport the power (and these are massive) AND the conventional power station needed as backup – consider all these items and you are getting close to the true carbon cost of wind farms.
As for transport issues – again, sam, you paint a rosy picture of wind farm developments. You say Mid Wales is in need of urgent major road improvements and I would agree that some of the major roads could do with improving – unfortunately wind farm development will need miles and miles of MINOR roads ‘improved’ as the wind farms are in remote areas. Mature Hedgerows will need to be ripped up to accomodate the transportation of the infrastructure for this wonderfully green way of producing power.
You say you “feel the need for everyone to be fully informed” and I agree. Lets get the facts out there – ALL the facts – and stop these wind farm companies trying to pull the wool over our eyes with their proaganda. Lets look at the total cost of wind farms – by that I mean the TOTAL carbon cost, the TOTAL environmental cost and the TOTAL cost to the energy user. If wind is this wonderful free power source why does it cost so much more than conventional power. The poor consumer is paying for this folly just to line the pockets of the wind farm developers – when you have the debuty PM’s wife joing the board of directors of a wind farm developer it doesn’t take much to work out what government policy is going to be but that doesn’t make it right.
It is time we had a full and open debate on these issues in this country. No recent government has had a proper policy on energy and it is too important to leave any longer.
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@ sam
In my reply I forgot to address your point about tourists approving of wind farms when asked. Let me put it this way – paint a picture of a magical character bringing gifts for children and families gathering round the table for a joyous time and a turkey would vote for christmas but tell it the full story and the answer would be very different.
Lets get the full story about wind farms out there then lets see if tourists approve.
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