The P&J reports. “Auldearn Primary School could get a 39ft turbine, while Nairn Academy is in line for one 32ft high. An application has also been lodged for a 49ft turbine at Cawdor Primary.”
This observer has heard a bit of debate about wind recently Last week Lesley Boulton of River CC made his anti-wind-farm feelings known and this week it was the turn of Graham Vine of the West folk. He said in relation to a consultation document that he admitted he had read three times “with a wet towel on my head”:
“One of the things that concerned me most about all this stuff about onshore wind-farms is that there is absolutely no justification for having them in the first place. It just talks about whether we should put them here, should we put them there, should we put them everywhere. There is absolutely no analysis saying this is producing a useful amount of power or producing a quarter of what we thought or wanted and not when we need it and when we do produce it sometimes we can’t use it. I think that it is taking entirely the wrong end of the stick, it is presuming wind-farms are a proven case and I don’t believe personally that that is the case. I don’t believe wind-farms are the proven case for Scotland’s energy needs.”
Well perhaps we’d better think of some other solutions then. How about a nice combined power and heat incinerator to warm up Nairn South during the, now, cold winters. Maybe in the field opposite Firhall? That could take all the plastic we can’t put in the blue bin. Perhaps we could have a wee nuclear power station on Sandown where the business park was going to be? There are unfortunately no easy ways to satisfy mankind’s insatiable demand for energy – unless we turn all the computers and freezers and big-screen tellys off?
8 comments:
What people need to realise about wind farms is that they are not a solution to all our energy needs, but instead a stage in the transition from dirty energy production to cleaner and renewable methods.
Change takes time, but criticising any of the early stages in themselves misses the point of the final goals the stages are heading towards.
No, we don't have a fully integrated green energy grid in place, and it will take decades to have one - wind farms are simply one of the first footsteps we need to make to get there.
Perhaps the wind turbines might produce enough energy to dry Graham's towel making reading easier?
Never mind your fancy stuff like TV and heating my partner could lose his job soon so we'll like as not have no money to pay for the electricity to run the washing machine or to make hot water to keep ourselves clean. We're getting on a bit so do not relish the thought of going back to the time of hand washing clothes and struggling to get them dry.
Strip washing ourselves in a cold room using a little hot water from a bowl does not appeal either I've got used to showers now. Still at least the lav is not outside but if there's no money to put the heating on then it might be warmer out there.
Don't like the sound of these wind turbines though.
Our energy consumption is growing and as such only new nuclear plants offers the answer
The windmills are just token gestures earning a bit of money for their landowners
Why do they not conciser solar panels the roof's must be big enough
to produce most of there needs and not so unsightly and not so expensive to install or maintain.
but maybe that is too simple for the grate mind's in Inverness.
Graham produces a lot of hot air. Maybe we can harness that in some way?
I thought the Highland Council had no money. Where are the hundreds of thousands of pounds coming from to install all of these turbines?
They will be relying on feed in tariffs to square the economic circle in payback terms, so what happens if the Government reduces the tariff rate?
Questions, questions.
One other small technical point. While the Cawdor & Nairn Academy applications seem fine, the application form for the one at Auldearn claims that the Highland Council own the ground it would be sited on . I'm fairly sure that is incorrect & its some association or trust that actually owns that ground.
Me thinks very well paid man at Council should dig deeper & find out for certain, before spending any more public money......
No, anonymous (5.03pm) the only answer is not nuclear, we could cut down on what we are using! Why are human beings so bloody greedy? Why are we destroying the only home we have with our constant demands and abuse? One day, maybe sooner than we think, the earth will not be able to provide us with what we demand and where will we be then? We need to stop being blind and deaf to what is happening.
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