NIMBY meeting
On Monday my sister, grandad and I decided to attend the Thorney Parish Council meeting, at which the company behind Gores farm wind farm proposal was giving a brief presentation. There had been a significant number of posters around Thorney encouraging people to attend the meeting to voice their displeasure.
After the meeting I struggled to think of any coherent argument put forward by the NIMBY side. There seemed to be a lot of moaning without any particular substance. There were a few points made that were reasonable:
1) what happens to the concrete once the turbines have run their course?
There seemed to be no reply to this, so I can only infer that the concrete is left. How much of a problem this is I don't know.
2) does the community still receive the community fund even if they oppose the wind farm?
The company set up a community fund so that those impacted by the wind farm receive a share in the profits. It is notable that this fund is not tied into the support of the local community. This did not stop people still moaning about the fund; not about the share but rather that it only existed as a bribe. Sometimes I think people have no sense.
3) what is this flicker that I keep hearing about?
There was a rather vague description of the flicker being the result of the sun passing behind the turbine. However, the main point is that each turbine has a detection unit on it that detects when flicker may occur for that particular turbine. This automatically shuts the turbine down until flicker is no longer an issue. (At this point I heard someone mutter that the turbines would always be off then since the sun travels 360 degrees).
From what I recall, there were no further reasonable questions. I will now summarise the arguments by the man who was the loudest, got the greatest applause, and was by far the most ignorant of all:
1) how many turbines would it take to produce the same amount of energy as the gas station in Thorney?
To clarify, Thorney has a small gas generator? Power station? Not really sure tbh, but a small gas something. The company said that they didn't know the answer to that. The man then gave us the answer; 1400. He then sat down to a large applause. Now, I am not sure if I am missing something, but as far as I can gather that fact isn't really relevant. When the gas runs out it will only take 1 turbine to beat the energy produced by the gas thingummy, so what was his point? Apparently the fact was his point as that was all he said about that. I also do not know if that fact is even true.
2) copper is known to damage the environment irreparably and those turbines have lots of copper wiring
Does he really think they are going to bury bare copper wires? Seriously?
3) what with all the exotic materials used in the production of these turbines, are they really that good for the environment?
A reasonable question actually, I just found the idea of 'exotic materials' amusing. Answer: 9 months to offset carbon footprint.
4) I regularly go walking in the fens to enjoy my hobby of photography. I honestly think that Thorney is the most beautiful place in the fens. Most notably, Thorney Dyke. Could we not put in to be declared an area of outstanding beauty and then stop the wind farms this way?
He might well be able to stop the wind farms this way, I don't know. I did however have a think about Thorney Dyke and wasn't sure where he meant. So I asked Emily whether it was that scrubby road where we used to cycle sometimes where the bodies were found. She confirmed it was. As much as I like the fens and I truly do think that the flat lands are pretty, I can't honestly say that that area is of outstanding beauty. But maybe I am the odd one out.
In conclusion, there seemed to be a lot of moaning for the sake of moaning, and not much of worth was said. No mention was made of birds being killed (just so you know, the RSPB supports wind farms and only opposes 6% of those proposed, Thorney is not deemed to be an area of high or medium risk). No mention was made of noise or devaluation of homes. There was a brief mention of an increased risk of flooding. I have not known Thorney to be flooded due to all the dykes, but if it did, could the community fund not be used to improve drainage? That's if they don't manage to moan their way out of it....
Other news from the meeting was an update on crime in the Parish in the past month. 8 incidents! Apart from the 2 bodies found, these included... A theft! A cockerel was stolen. Criminal damage! A gate was forced open. Arson! A wheelie bin was set on fire.
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