WINDFARM OPPOSITION: Paul Frost in his garden. The wind turbines would be built on the horizon
A FORMER television presenter
has joined forces with villagers
to fight a proposed windfarm
near their homes.
At a meeting in Bishopton Village
Hall, near Darlington, residents,
including former Tyne
Tees newsreader Paul Frost,
pledged to fight plans in order to
protect the countryside and
wildlife.
Early site tests are being carried
out on a scheme that could
result in 11 turbines, 100m high,
being built on farmland at West
Newbiggin.
Although no planning application
has been submitted to
Darlington Borough Council, villagers
vowed to do everything in
their power to stop the scheme
before it started.
Durham Tees Valley Airport
and the Ministry of Defence have
already raised concerns about
the potential impact of the turbines
on radar systems.
Mr Frost said the Bishopton
group was not opposed to windfarms
in principle, but felt the
scheme, by Pure Renewable
Energy, based in Billingham,
near Stockton, could ruin some
of the area's most panoramic
views.
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He said: "One of the reasons I
bought my house was for the
view - it really is spectacular.
"The last thing I want is a huge
windfarm out there. These
things are five times the height
of the Angel of the North.
"One of them is within spitting
distance of an ancient monument,
the motte-and-bailey castle
at the end of the village.
"It is an important historical
site which could be overshadowed
by a 100m-high turbine."
Bishopton Parish Council
chairman Peter Wood said: "I
hope the potential developers realise
they have a fight on their
hands.
"We are prepared to hire our
own consultants and, if necessary,
take this all the way to a
public inquiry.
"This is definitely not a case
of not in my back yard'.
"The proposed location of the
turbines is completely inappropriate.
We should be protecting
our countryside, not destroying
it."
Earlier this month, Green
Party campaigners from East
Anglia backed the plans and
called for more to be done to promote
renewable energy
schemes.
Alan Irvine, the managing director
of Pure Renewable Energy,
said last month that it was
premature to discuss the scheme
because no plans had been submitted.
He said full public consultation
would take place when the
plans were submitted.
Posted by: L. MacMahon, Bishopton on 9:54am Fri 28 Mar 08
We are completely behind Mr. Frost. Bishopton has an Ancient Monument, listed buildings and is in a Conservation Area. The nearest turbine is less that 1 km from virtually the whole of the village and would be sited on a hill looking down onto the village. We must protect our countryside and areas of historical interest.
We are completely behind Mr. Frost. Bishopton has an Ancient Monument, listed buildings and is in a Conservation Area. The nearest turbine is less that 1 km from virtually the whole of the village and would be sited on a hill looking down onto the village. We must protect our countryside and areas of historical interest.
Posted by: Ian, Darlington on 8:56pm Fri 28 Mar 08
I used to like him, Paul Frost off the tele, coz he was good on the local news, and he should come back to tv and do it again, coz i watched the local news the other teatime, and it was depressing and was like watching the rain dry, i tell you just aload of miserable moys, telling you of the doom and gloom of the region, at least Paul Frost always seemed happy to be reading the news and was happy to crack a joke about himself with his big, funny, moustache, he was amusing, well aye.
I used to like him, Paul Frost off the tele, coz he was good on the local news, and he should come back to tv and do it again, coz i watched the local news the other teatime, and it was depressing and was like watching the rain dry, i tell you just aload of miserable moys, telling you of the doom and gloom of the region, at least Paul Frost always seemed happy to be reading the news and was happy to crack a joke about himself with his big, funny, moustache, he was amusing, well aye.
People...this is about profit, not saving the planet. These companies receive millions in grants and subsidies. They can get paid for the blades turning round; they don't have to provide electricity into the grid. The green con is fast becoming the green money scam and you pick up the bill in either way. This does not happen in countries where the people stick together and fight these land invaders
People...this is about profit, not saving the planet. These companies receive millions in grants and subsidies. They can get paid for the blades turning round; they don't have to provide electricity into the grid. The green con is fast becoming the green money scam and you pick up the bill in either way. This does not happen in countries where the people stick together and fight these land invaders
Posted by: Elizabeth Mann, Co Durham on 9:15pm Sun 30 Mar 08
"Alan Irvine, the managing director of Pure Renewable Energy, said last month that it was premature to discuss the scheme because no plans had been submitted"
It is correct that no actual plans have been submitted but there has been much discussion over the past months, with consultees, noticeably not the people who will be most affected.
It is therefore not premature for those people to speak out now as once the planning application is submitted there will be only about 3 weeks for the locals to have their say,for or against
The developer can appeal if an application is refused but approval leaves the locals with no comeback 'A HEADS THEY WIN TAILS WE LOSE' situation
As Prof. Ian Fells, one of the world’s leading experts on renewable energy, stated that behind the building of windfarms is a gold rush, [bold]created by a government struggling to meet its own renewable energy targets.[/bold] It has led to developers racing to build turbines with little care for the environment.
The real profit comes from the sale of renewable obligations certificates (ROCs), that ingenious hidden subsidy. A wind farmer is allowed to create one ROC for every 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity generated, potentially 2628 ROCs each year for each I MW turbine installed using a load factor of 30% for onshore wind.
eg A 4 MW wind farm over 25 years and assuming one ROC is worth around £50.
[bold]The subsidy of £4x25x50 x2628= £13,140,000.[/bold]
Certificates can be sold to the big electricity suppliers, who need them to prove to the government that some of their electricity comes from renewable sources.
[bold]Subsidy[/bold] for the The Newbiggin windfarms could thus exceed £72 million over the lifetime of the development
The ROC subsidy is paid for by the consumer
"Alan Irvine, the managing director of Pure Renewable Energy, said last month that it was premature to discuss the scheme because no plans had been submitted"
It is correct that no actual plans have been submitted but there has been much discussion over the past months, with consultees, noticeably not the people who will be most affected.
It is therefore not premature for those people to speak out now as once the planning application is submitted there will be only about 3 weeks for the locals to have their say,for or against
The developer can appeal if an application is refused but approval leaves the locals with no comeback 'A HEADS THEY WIN TAILS WE LOSE' situation
As Prof. Ian Fells, one of the world’s leading experts on renewable energy, stated that behind the building of windfarms is a gold rush, created by a government struggling to meet its own renewable energy targets. It has led to developers racing to build turbines with little care for the environment.
The real profit comes from the sale of renewable obligations certificates (ROCs), that ingenious hidden subsidy. A wind farmer is allowed to create one ROC for every 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity generated, potentially 2628 ROCs each year for each I MW turbine installed using a load factor of 30% for onshore wind.
eg A 4 MW wind farm over 25 years and assuming one ROC is worth around £50. The subsidy of £4x25x50 x2628= £13,140,000.
Certificates can be sold to the big electricity suppliers, who need them to prove to the government that some of their electricity comes from renewable sources.
Subsidy for the The Newbiggin windfarms could thus exceed £72 million over the lifetime of the development
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