Wind farms

[jobob_80]

I wanted to take an opportunity to respond to some of the more usual complaints against wind farms, generally found in newspaper letters pages, and here is as good a place as any.

* "Wind farms are ugly". This is a statement of opinion, not fact. Other people find them serene and calm, perhaps even beautiful. Roads may be ugly but because they are

Comments

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As you say, any solution to the energy problem must be multi-faceted - while I'm a big beleiver than nuclear must be a big part of any solution, I'll also admit that renewables supporting that must also be in place and that the environmental hassle involved in nuclear is enough that we can't eschew using other greener alternatives where possible. The battery analogy is a good one, I think - tools all have a purpose and it's essential to keep that in mind.

That said, I think the fact that wind farms aren't a solo solution does create a sort of "logic gap" for those opposed to them - we perhaps cope with "essential" services like roads because we have no real alternative whereas, with the placement of individual wind farms, it's easy for residents to dismiss them as causing them hassle when they can't wholly replace the other processes. Subjective complaints or not, when someone proposes something you don't like in the name of Green Energy, the limits of green energy are going to seem a bit galling.

The point about putting them in rural vs city areas is, I think, less about the logic and more a PR battle. If a city is low on schools, it builds schools in it's boundary. If a city is low on hospitals, it builds hospitals in it's boundary. If a city is low on electricity, it... er... builds windfarms in it's rural neighbours. If you don't like them it's going to be extra-frustrating to know that it's happening in your neighbourhood to deal with what rural types might perceive as a "Townie Problem" - or that towns aren't pulling their weight in providing energy sources. (Yes, I know it isn't really a "Townie Problem", but there's more to that complaint than that.)

Ultimately, perhaps the real problem is how ubiquitous and human right-like we view electricity these days. No-one in western society goes without instant electricity except in bizarre situations - our generation in particular is used to flicking a switch and the process just happens, entirely hidden behind the scenes. The idea that if we don't do this then the lights will go out isn't easilly grasped because, well, surely the lights are always on? It's very easy to forget how much thought, manpower and expense goes into keeping our machine ticking over - and it's only when that delicate spiderweb is broken (such as when the recent ash cloud nonsense saw flowers & vegetables vanish from shops because they could no longer be easilly sourced) that we realise how many foundations are key to our everyday life.

Solving that is probably easier said than done - explaining in a non-preachy, non-jargon-heavy way what state the National Grid is in and what the projected timescale is to fix it, plus what the different options do, would be the key element. But this element of science is now firmly caught up in politcis of the ideological and economic kind. Forget anti-global-warming types - I think the real threat is that, in the short term, it looks way cheaper to leave renewables for some other government to worry about and just keep on trundling on.

George Q

[jobob_80]

You may be right: we may get further if we try to reintroduce a sense of wonder at what we've achieved so far in just delivering reliable electricity to all homes. Perhaps then "doing it differently" wouldn't seem so impossible.

It's a good point about the urban/rural dichotomy. But on the other hand, many rural locations are crying out for an identity and something which provides local jobs for local people. Rural power stations and the associated grid infrastructure they require could provide that and enable more people to relocate /away/ from cities and commuter belts. The most significant rural industry may be tourism, but that doesn't mean other industries have to be banned. Besides, Whitelee windfarm near East Kilbride has a very successful visitor's centre.

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...many rural locations are crying out for an identity and something which provides local jobs for local people. Rural power stations and the associated grid infrastructure they require could provide that and enable more people to relocate /away/ from cities and commuter belts.

I think that's probably an argument worth pressing with critics - even if they don't like windfarms for one of a variety of reasons, the boon to the local economy may be something they're willing to put up with them for. At the very least, the trickle down effect from all those workers stopping at petrol stations on the way in and out of work has to count for something. :-)

Some may be skeptical that it will be local jobs it will generate and local companies it will benefit, not commuting urban-dwellers and nationwide companies scooping the contracts. Similarly, bringing new families into the town might be perceived as regenerating the area.... or it me perceived as turning it into a very far away suburb of a city, which isn't quite the same thing. I suppose it's all a question of the scale of the project and the situation in the town in question.

...Whitelee windfarm near East Kilbride has a very successful visitor's centre.

And if it weren't for the dam at Pitlochry, Ailsa and I would have genuinely had nothing to do there on an afternoon. :-)

George Q