Proliferation of wind farms viable only with subsidy from consumers

Much has been reported by Government regarding climate change and how to combat it. May I therefore draw readers’ attention to what I term the ‘might or could scenario’?
There are two sides to the anthropogenic global warming debate. One involves Al Gore’s film “An Inconvenient Truth‟ which the High Court has ruled must be presented with counterbalance in schools to prevent it being seen as political indoctrination
The other concerns the Channel 4 documentary, the Great Global Warming Swindle, which has been seriously criticised but not legally discredited

The County Durham Climate Change Action Plan appears to subscribe to Gore’s reasoning. It is based on evidence from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which attributes most of the warming over the last 50 years to human activity. The design and printing of the plan has had funding from Npower

However, may I, suggest that the ‘what actually is scenario’ is the real, inconvenient truth behind the global warming issue?

As a result of the renewable obligation subsidy (ROC) a gold rush has been created as the Government struggles to meet renewable energy targets. This has brought a proliferation of wind ‘farm proposals that are viable only with the subsidy, Who pays for it? We do as consumers
Wind farms ‘operating’ in the N East have underperformed for years, yet we still have proposal after proposal .Currently: there are 10 at Moorhouse, (ROC potential £62.5 million), 11 at East/West Newbiggin, (ROC potential £68.7million), 10 at Great Stainton, (ROC potential £62.5 million),10 at Red Gapp,( ROC potential £62.5 million), 3 at Shotton Beck,(ROC potential £18.75 million) and10 at Butterwick,(ROC potential £62.5 million)

The reduction of CO2 emissions and other pollutants now seem lost in the race for regional targets, mainly onshore wind. A real catch 22 as until wind turbines were operational we could not prove whether wind turbines would reduce CO2 emissions as expected. They are certainly not doing so in the North East.

Elizabeth Mann
Chair Durham Branch CPRE

Some relevant factsf which may help

I think the point in your second paragraph is addressed in a letter from Ronald W Clarke who is Chairman of the Harrington Aviation Museum Society. He says:

“… the erection of these monsters would do nothing to preserve the integrity of this historic site. We have a steady flow of American veterans and their decendents, who often comment on the tranquility of the memorial and old airfield site. The problem is of course that once erected these inefficient monsters will dominate the surrounding countryside, and ruin the empathy of the place.

On behalf of our members and the hundreds of American airmen who perished whilst flying from Harrington, I would ask the planners responsible for decisions on siting these things, to respect the site, and ensure that the only sounds heard are the birds and sighing of the wind.”

I accept fully your point about windmills, but these were generally singular structures in this country, with a height which rarely exceeded that of the local church tower. I suspect the situation might have been very different had those residents been faced with windmills of the height and number currently being proposed. It’s also interesting to note that they were predominantly erected in the fens, an area known as New Holland, where wind would blow unimpeded from the sea across large tracts of flat land to drive the sails. In the early 19th century there were around 1200 working windmills throughout England and Wales, when wind and water were used to power flour grinders. By the 1920’s there were only around 200 working mills throughout England, with, I believe, around 13 in the Northamptonshire area, mostly south of Moulton.

I hail originally from Lincolnshire and know well the section of coastline that extends from the Humber to the Wash and beyond. It is a desolate area of sand dunes that bord onto shoreline, reaching for miles when the tide is out and where the wind whips relentlessly from sea to land. I can see no comparison between that landscape and the area around the old Harrington airfield, nor do I see much comparison between the handful of working windmills, generally sited alone on the top of hills, at the turn of the last century and the proposed wind turbines which number in excess of 100 along the A14.

I travel the B576 twice a day to work from Desborough, what a fitting tribute to those brave souls who flew from Harrington in the war to have a load of real propellors turning as a memorial to them, why not make in into a feature for those men from Harrington. Surely they are not too bad.

I spend some time in Lincolnshire near skegness, they are rife in that area but everyone accepts them as a part of life, why cant we here.

Richard Morris Desborough