Windfarm protest support swells - but pro-turbine campaigners will be there too (From Thisisdorset)
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Windfarm protest support swells - but pro-turbine campaigners will be there too
1:17pm Thursday 10th January 2013 in Latest By Jim Durkin
Windfarm protest support swells - but pro-turbine campaigners will be there too
HUNDREDS of protesters are expected to flock to Swanage seafront on Sunday to link hands in protest at a sprawling wind farm planned off the protected Jurassic Coast.
The Navitus Bay wind farm, a joint venture by Dutch firm Eneco and French power company EDF Energy, could include up to 218 turbines.
Wind farm bosses scaled down the number of turbines, from a maximum 333, in December. However, each could still tower up to 200m - almost four times the height of Nelson's Column.
Sunday's protest, organised by Swanage couple Mike and Charlie Sanderson, will be attended by South Dorset MP Richard Drax and Swanage mayor Bill Trite.
Campaigners meet at the Mowlem Theatre at 10am, with the protest taking place an hour later.
Local pro-green energy groups are also expected to gather on Swanage seafront to indicate their support for “the principle of developing a wind power scheme off the Dorset coast.”
Mrs Sanderson told the Daily Echo: “These people are entitled to their views as well. I don't see it being a problem for us.
“At first we thought there would only be quite a small crowd joining us, but things have just got bigger and bigger. We think there will be quite a large number of people attending, but a lot depends on the weather.
“Anyone who feels strongly about the location of the Navitus Bay wind farm, I would ask them to come along on Sunday and join us. It is important they also write to the company, because Navitus Bay has changed the numbers and location of the farm so now it is a new application.”
As well as cutting back turbine numbers, Navitus Bay has also announced the proposed site will be further out to sea.
If permitted, the park will be 12 miles from Bournemouth rather than 10, and 9.1 miles from Swanage rather than eight.
Mike Unsworth, project director for Navitus Bay Development Limited, said: “We feel that these significant adjustments to the plans strike a good balance between responses that we have had from consultees and the technical viability from an environmental, engineering, shipping and commercial perspective.”
Opponents fear the offshore plant will jeopardise tourism, harm marine wildlife and hamper shipping.
Meanwhile, East Dorset Friends of the Earth spokesman Martin Price, who will be among Sunday's pro-wind farm demonstrators, said: “We feel that too many alarmist claims are being made about the possible impacts of the Navitus Bay wind farm proposal.
“Climate change is already happening and poses a greater threat to the Dorset/Hampshire environment than a few wind turbines.”
Comments(15)
Ophilum
says...
2:10pm Thu 10 Jan 13
benjamin
says...
2:22pm Thu 10 Jan 13
timwel
says...
2:57pm Thu 10 Jan 13
1) 10x cost of conventional power generation
2) Additional conventional generation needed when wind does not blow
3) CO2 hypothesis and extra warming still not proven
4) China doesn't give a stuff and are increasingly using coal power generation such that all UK initiatives at reducing CO2 will be unmeasurably small
5) Putting huge bird chopping rotors on a major bird migration route is just sick-making
EddieVH
says...
2:59pm Thu 10 Jan 13
Ophilum wrote:You should probably stop looking upon The Daily Mail as a source of scientific information. Met Office refutes accusations its data show no climate change:
Dare I say green from the neck up, even the Met office now are saying no such thing as global warming, only social engineering
http://metofficenews
.wordpress.com/2012/
10/14/met-office-in-
the-media-14-october
-2012/
Lord gungedin of Ferndown
says...
3:02pm Thu 10 Jan 13
Glashen
says...
3:19pm Thu 10 Jan 13
EddieVH wrote:I believe we are conducting a very dangerous experiment with the climate and we should take serious steps to address the Co2 we are pumping into the atmosphere not token gestures such as windfarms. I do also believe the green lobby only have themselves to blame for not being believed, they made predictions about the climate that so far have not come true, they allowed the view they were able to predict the change and exaggerated the speed it was likely to occur at, that is why more and more people now think they are just crying wolf again. If they were honest about how difficult it is to predict the medium to long term effects maybe we could start to do the right things about moving away from fossil fuels to a truly sustainable answer such as Nuclear.
Ophilum wrote:You should probably stop looking upon The Daily Mail as a source of scientific information. Met Office refutes accusations its data show no climate change:
Dare I say green from the neck up, even the Met office now are saying no such thing as global warming, only social engineering
http://metofficenews
.wordpress.com/2012/
10/14/met-office-in-
the-media-14-october
-2012/
Ophilum
says...
3:56pm Thu 10 Jan 13
They even lied about how long they will work before having to be replaced 15years, say it quietly and we may get away with it, Loads of money for the landowners High bills for the public.
EGHH
says...
4:36pm Thu 10 Jan 13
Dr Strangelove
says...
4:53pm Thu 10 Jan 13
Ophilum
says...
4:57pm Thu 10 Jan 13
4:36pm Thu 10 Jan 13
If global warming is a con why are the ice caps melting?
Who says the ice caps are melting the greens.
Just say this to yourselves when you are snowed in, they said kids will never see snow in this country because of Global warming.
Liars and cheats the lot of them.
Bob49
says...
6:18pm Thu 10 Jan 13
However the Daily Mail is right.
The earth's temperature is actually cooling (probably, as they point out, caused by all these gigantic fans that are being built)..
Has the local council not read the Daily Mails report on how wind turbines can cause cancer - or how energy generated from such sources can result in your satelitte dish remotely tuning itself into Al Jeezara.
No sailing ship will be safe to pass anywhere near them for fear of losing their masts, dolphins could be sliced in two as the jump out of the water anud tourists will not be happy as their fish and chips get blown out of their hands.
Though what the local vicar will say when he finds many of his flock (the local MP included) have foresaken his service to partake of some ungodly gathering on the sea shore I dread to think.
But money always was a stronger god for many.
pete woodley
says...
7:10pm Thu 10 Jan 13
Bob49
says...
7:41pm Thu 10 Jan 13
I think it is very noble that so many folk are prepared to give up their sunday service to defend their house prices.
Likewise their MP, whose appearance in the constitiency could see an even greater number of 'twitchers' with their binoculars out, ever keen to catch such a rare sight on our shores.
Though thanks to an annual £500,000 hand out from the EC this little fella will be most interested in votes than money..
pete woodley
says...
8:56pm Thu 10 Jan 13
pete woodley says...
2:03pm Thu 10 Jan 13