Wind farms (1 Viewer)

[nirofo]

Whilst out for a stroll a few weeks ago, i noticed that a large area of immature trees were being felled. Looked to be no reason as they were a few years from being ready. Earlier this week i found the reason for this felling, yet another wind monitoring mast has sprung up on the mountain top above the trees. This is less than 100 metres from a peregrine eyrie. If anyone has any doubts about the potential damage to protected birds in Wales its time to open your eyes and realise that almost all these potential wind farm sites are in areas right next to breeding sites. The fact that the forestry commission are clearfelling to aid wind flow says it all.They are being led by the noses by the Welsh Assembly and pressured into using our land for unsuitable schemes, bullied by the Labour group leading the Assembly .We are going to be covered in these monstrosities wether the local people want them or not. We go on about democracy for other countries, perhaps the government and assemblies of this country should start practicing it here first.

Hi Valley Boy

I'm afraid the insidious march of the windmills is no respector of the countryside, it's wildlife or the visual impact on the landscape. I used to think that the Forestry Commission was set up in trust on behalf of the people of the UK and that the woodlands belonged to the people and were managed by the Forestry Commission. If this was so, what has since changed to allow the building of windfarms on this land, what mandate do the Forestry Commission now have for allowing commercial enterprise on public land and who gave them this mandate, were the people asked if they wanted to allow this drastic change of policy! Please don't say we voted yes when we voted for the present government.

nirofo.

 

[Tyke]

Looks like the Assembly calls the shots on Forestry in Wales VB:-

http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/INFD-6VLKAJ

Change your politicians asap.

Colin

 

[Collster]

Looks like the Assembly calls the shots on Forestry in Wales VB:-

http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/INFD-6VLKAJ

Change your politicians asap.

Colin

I notice in the link that theres not much mention of windfarms on their(our) land. They are chopping down huge areas of immature trees to accomadate the Assemblys windfarm plans, it all seems to go against the stated aims of the commission. This is obviously blatant abuse of the commission by politicians in the bay. We are already losing schedule 1 nest sites by the dozen as these masts are erected, god knows what it will be like when the farms( or windparks as they now like to call them in their bullshit propaganda literature) and all the infastructure to support them are constructed. What with the new gaspipeline being railroaded across the country the wildlife have never had it so bad.

 

[Collster]

Hi Valley Boy

I'm afraid the insidious march of the windmills is no respector of the countryside, it's wildlife or the visual impact on the landscape. I used to think that the Forestry Commission was set up in trust on behalf of the people of the UK and that the woodlands belonged to the people and were managed by the Forestry Commission. If this was so, what has since changed to allow the building of windfarms on this land, what mandate do the Forestry Commission now have for allowing commercial enterprise on public land and who gave them this mandate, were the people asked if they wanted to allow this drastic change of policy! Please don't say we voted yes when we voted for the present government.

nirofo.

hi Nirofo,i fear that you are right with what you are saying. There seems to be no consultation with ordinary people, just a series of manoeuvres that anyone politician would be proud of. I was talking to someone who works for the local council, i have been told that planning laws are being relaxed to ease the building of these farms. Visual impact isnt going to be used to turn down farms , as has been the case. If i stand on my local mountain top i can see two operational windfarms and another ten monitoring masts, why the hell should we have such a disproportionate amount of these? They are only just removing the heaps of crap that never once turned, they've been blighting the landscape here for about ten years. If it takes this long to remove relatively small turbines, what hope that after their use they will then remove these far bigger structures.The Labour party in Wales are never going to be forgiven if they go ahead with these plans that will wreck huge swathes of Wales, for an over hyped technology that doesnt produce nowhere near the amounts quoted

 

[deborah4]

sorry to interupt, but Greenland Whitefronts need some help here

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=71658

(whether one is pro or anti windfarm, looks like they are here to stay, so hopefully most will agree the location of where they are placed is something that can be influenced for the better)


as you were

 

[nirofo]

sorry to interupt, but Greenland Whitefronts need some help here

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=71658

(whether one is pro or anti windfarm, looks like they are here to stay, so hopefully most will agree the location of where they are placed is something that can be influenced for the better)


as you were

Hi deborah4

Already completed the petition.

nirofo.

 

[Collster]

sorry to interupt, but Greenland Whitefronts need some help here

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=71658

(whether one is pro or anti windfarm, looks like they are here to stay, so hopefully most will agree the location of where they are placed is something that can be influenced for the better)


as you were

Hi Deborah you can't be serious about people being able to influence the siting of these farms. If you know anything about the distribution of schedule 1 birds in Britain you will realise that where ever these windfarms are erected they are going to impact on these birds. Here in Wales they've already erected one farm smack bang in the middle of territory holding some of the rarest raptors breeding in Britain. So if you take that position as a starting point, it certainly doesn't bode well for the future.If these birds carried no weight(so to speak) then Peregrines, Goshawk and Merlins all across Wales are going to have new 350 ft high neighbours to contend with pretty soon. Incidently all these birds are protected by law, what a laugh. Soon the shit will hit the fan down this way as i and others will go public with our data so everyone knows whats going on in the name of saving the planet.

 

[Argyll Eagle]

I have very strong and slightly incompatable views here...

... I quoted the 600 Grasshopper warblers taken out in a single night by the Bardesy Lighthouse (the actually number is in a previous thread) .

If this is what one lighthouse can do in one night, can you imagine the bird kills caused by thousands of 110M high turbines, rotors travelling at 170MPH?

 

[Jane Turner]

Not know for their great light output though are they. Its the light that attracts and then dazzles night migrants.

 

[Collster]

Not know for their great light output though are they. Its the light that attracts and then dazzles night migrants.

I bet their blades will have an equally devastating affect on night migrants though.

 

[Jane Turner]

Way back in this thread is the data on the height that night migrants travel at.

 

[Collster]

Way back in this thread is the data on the height that night migrants travel at.

Last year at a site earmarked for a windfarm there were hundreds of Ring Ousels grounded due to mist. Doesnt matter that they were originally way too high for the blades, they ended up landing in fields due to weather conditions. If this farm was operational there would have been a field full of feathers. As this area is on a regular migration route for this species chances are that during the life of the farm these weather conditions will be replicated with dead birds being the result

 

[Stewart J.]

Lochluichart Windfarm Development

The deadline for the revised (sic) application is December !st so if anyone would like to have their say and help push for a public enquiry:-

http://www.a-windfarm-too-far.com/re-object.htm

Thanks all and apologies if already been posted I'm just bumping it up.

Stewart

 

[Tyke]

Last year at a site earmarked for a windfarm there were hundreds of Ring Ousels grounded due to mist. Doesnt matter that they were originally way too high for the blades, they ended up landing in fields due to weather conditions. If this farm was operational there would have been a field full of feathers. As this area is on a regular migration route for this species chances are that during the life of the farm these weather conditions will be replicated with dead birds being the result

Well responded VB.
What beats me is why a) the first response to a query about avian risk is always a neat piece of theory which seeks to sideline the question & b) the neat theory is usually totally unrelated to reality.

Colin

 

[Collster]

Well responded VB.
What beats me is why a) the first response to a query about avian risk is always a neat piece of theory which seeks to sideline the question & b) the neat theory is usually totally unrelated to reality.

Colin

Tyke, if you listen to half the idiots( not that im saying Jane is) on the local council, windfarm surveyors etc you would wonder what all the fuss is about. The truth is no one knows enough about the potential impact these farms will have. The weather conditions down this way means that for about half a year these turbines will not be visible to birds due to mist , fog etc, but that doesnt matter as they assume the birds will avoid them anyway. With the prospect of nearly every mountain top covered they are sure going to have to do a lot of avoiding. Lets face it once these farms are up and running the energy companies, assemblies and councils aint going to give a toss about any bird fatalities.

 

[Osprey_watcher]

Did anyone see 'Coast' on BBC2 last night? It showed a computer simulation of what the Isle of Lewis will look like if the proposed wind farm goes ahead.
It was horrendous beyond belief. I really feel sorry for the people who live on that lovely island.

 

[Collster]

Did anyone see 'Coast' on BBC2 last night? It showed a computer simulation of what the Isle of Lewis will look like if the proposed wind farm goes ahead.
It was horrendous beyond belief. I really feel sorry for the people who live on that lovely island.

This is going to be the scenario across huge areas of our countryside, its about time people woke up to the fact that corners are being cut and these schemes are being railroaded through with no regard to the opinions of locals who have to put up with it. I predict in ten , fifteen years time , when they realise the folly of these schemes all these politicos will be saying, it was nothing to do with me.

 

[nirofo]

Did anyone see 'Coast' on BBC2 last night? It showed a computer simulation of what the Isle of Lewis will look like if the proposed wind farm goes ahead.
It was horrendous beyond belief. I really feel sorry for the people who live on that lovely island.

And that goes for the rest of Scotland, nowhere is sacred to the men with the money, if there's a pound to be made then all the beautifull places and the environment mean nothing to them. The build windfarms to save on CO2 emissions is just a smoke screen to push through the planning rigmorole and to provide more brownie points for the government so they can spout to their constituents, "LOOK WHAT I'M DOING TO HELP REDUCE THE EFFECTS OF GLOBAL WARMING". IN YOUR DREAMS!!

nirofo.

 

[alcedo.atthis]

IN YOUR DREAMS!!

Well I must be!!

http://www.stv.tv/archive/news/20060717/Commissioner_visits_site_of_proposed_wor

Regards


Malky

Ps have a look at the "Video report" at the top of the article. The Turbine at the end of the piece is one of the ones at the Glens of Foundland beside Huntly. The Fir trees are nearly fully grown and ready for harvesting. This turbine is just a "small" one!!
http://www.futret.com/album/glens-of-foundland-windfarm

 

[Wickham]

Just a reminder that wind farms need strong roads to each turbine to carry in the huge blades and the sections of 90 metre high towers on 40 tonne articulated lorries.

Over a hundred miles of hardcore road for the Isle of Lewis; just the construction of these roads and drainage ditches will cause immense damage to the peat and hardcore will probably come from the blasting of hilly areas.

I worked on the Falklands airport construction contract which required lots of roads in peat areas. Generally the peat was about 300mm deep but in every dip in the landscape it was deeper - up to 4 metres deep.

Floating roads with lots of hardcore were not at all possible as the hardcore just sank even with the construction traffic on it.

All peat had to be laboriously dug out and hilltops blasted to provide hardcore to replace the peat and take the road levels up above surrounding ground. It wasn't just peat that was dug out, soft clay underneath was also removed. The roads weren't motorways, they were just gravel access roads for maintenance traffic and the road to Stanley was also gravel for cars and occasional buses.

All roads had deep side ditches to take water and streams away.

http://www.wickham43.supanet.com/falklands/peatdigandcorral.html

This shows what can happen just with construction traffic:-
http://www.wickham43.supanet.com/falklands/boginsonsite.html

See http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?p=755375#post755375 in the News section regarding the wind farms for the Thames Estuary.