Pontefract Windfarm Action Group

£250Bn: The real cost of wind power

By Eugene Henderson Sunday Express www.express.co.uk 15 November 2009

A report has exposed the true costs of wind generated electricity

The Government's renewable energy strategy is in tatters after a report exposing the true costs of generating electricity by wind power.

An internal document from the National Grid, seen by the Sunday Express, says wind turbine energy will at times cost over 3,000 per cent more than conventional power.

Industry experts say over-reliance on wind power could mean fuel poverty for consumers, as older power plants reach the end of their working lives while Britain's new generation of nuclear stations is still a long way off completion. Some experts claim the cost of upgrading the nation's electricity grid - so it is possible to use all the renewable energy - could be £250billion or 10 times the Government's estimates.

The revelations will make uncomfortable reading for Gordon Brown and his team, who have pinned much of their hopes of meeting carbon emission targets on wind power.

Wind farm objectors face agonising wait

pontefractandcastlefordexpress.co.uk Published Date: 05 November 2009

By Staff Copy

A FINAL decision on whether a controversial wind farm will change the Darrington skyline is still months away after a public inquiry ended.

Residents who have dedicated their lives to fighting plans for five 125 metre high turbines off Westfield Lane, now face an agonising wait following the final day of the hearing last Wednesday.
The plans, from developer Banks Renewables, were rejected by Wakefield Council but the firm appealed.
In final statements John Denison, chairman of the West Park Action Group, told the hearing the scheme would affect residents' human rights.
He said: "The proposal is incompliant with most planning aims and likely to introduce serious health problems.
"There are hundreds of people around the world affected by giant industrial turbines suffering severe health and amenity problems - many live further from turbines than the proposed Darrington wind farm will be."
Non practising barrister Iwan Richards, representing Pontefract Wind Farm Action Group, revealed that The Green Party had filed one of 2,270 objections to the wind farm.
He added: "Banks has not demonstrated that very special circumstances (to build in the green belt) apply to this proposed development and therefore the local authority was correct in refusing the application."

MP calls for greater buffer zone for windfarms

Article taken from Evesham Journal www.eveshamjournal.co.uk

Evesham's MP, Peter Luff, will introduce legislation to the House of Commons next month calling for a buffer zone between wind farms and housing.

Mr Luff will introduce the Onshore Wind Turbines (Proximity of Habitation) Bill on November 3 under the 10 minute rule in a bid to set a fixed distance of half a mile for smaller turbines, a mile for medium sized turbines and 1.5 miles for the largest turbines from residential areas.

The MP for Mid Worcestershire said he has been working with residents living near to the proposed five-turbine windfarm at Lenchwick to look at increasing the current 500m buffer zone.

"It is my limited intention to raise the aesthetic and environmental concerns associated with large wind turbines when they are located too close to homes," he said.

"I happen to be a keen exponent of alternative and renewable energy sources, but feel strongly that onshore wind farms are only appropriate where their visual and environmental impact on open countryside is acceptable.

"Government policy on this issue is vague, giving little protection to local communities who have legitimate objections to the building of these turbines in their area. The companies appear to comply with a voluntary 500m "buffer zone" but this has no legal force."

Evesham Journal

www.eveshamjournal.co.uk