Wind Turbines

[north beachmore]

English ban on turbines a turning point, say Scottish wind farm foes

Credit: By Bill Caven, Scottish Daily Mail, 31 May 2012 ~~

Scottish opponents of wind farms were last night hoping that an English court ruling banning a giant turbines plan will be the start of a fightback against intrusive projects.

They welcomed a landmark decision by an English High Court judge that landscape preservation was more important than renewable energy targets.

Mrs Justice Lang ruled that four 350ft turbines at Hemsby, near the Norfolk Broads, would harm the area’s character and appearance.

Campaigners say the decision sets no legal precedent here but they believe it could be referred to in court cases and will provide a rallying point for objectors fighting the march of wind farms across Scotland. A spokesman for Communities Against Turbines said: ‘This is a clear message that developers cannot expect that climate change gives them a licence to plonk industrial turbines wherever they like.

‘This is a sea-change which we are also beginning to witness in Scotland.’

She added that only last week Scottish ministers threw out an appeal by a Fife farmer for three 90ft turbines because their contribution to energy targets did not outweigh the damage to people’s enjoyment of the countryside.

Also

Greenland white-fronted geese find protection

One of Europe's rarest species of geese, which winters on Scotland's west coast, will receive special protection in an international agreement signed last week in France.....

An article in the Oban times reported this week.

the plan calls for : improved monitoring and research into the causes of population decline; actions on wintering areas in the UK and Ireland; urgent efforts to further reduce unnecessary causes of death - for example, through collision with man made structures....

The full article can be read in The Oban Times, 31st May 2012, Page 13

[north beachmore]

Farmer fails in appeal against Fife windfarm refusal

An appeal against a decision to turn down plans for three wind turbines in rural north east Fife has been rejected by Scottish ministers.

Published in the Courier : 23.05.12
Published online : 23.05.12 @ 05.07pm


Fife councillors had previously thrown out farmer Andrew Simpson's proposals for the trio of 27m-high turbines at Balmeadowside Farm near Luthrie at the turn of the year, although that decision was subsequently challenged by the applicant.

Now though, those plans look further away than ever after it emerged that David Buylla, a reporter appointed by the Scottish ministers, has dismissed Mr Simpson's appeal and formally refused the application.

The proposal would have involved the installation of three 20KW turbines close to the top of a prominent hill, with access via an existing track that served a telecommunications tower which occupied the site until about 10 years ago.

Mr Simpson had argued the plans would have made a worthwhile contribution towards energy targets but the appeal's rejection appears to have put paid to that.

''I agree with the appellant that the benefits of the proposal are a significant material consideration but I am not satisfied that these outweigh the areas of concern that I have identified, which arise from the particular sensitivity of the appeal site's location and, in some respects, the very limited level of supporting information that accompanied the proposal,'' Mr Buylla concluded.

Noting the development would be seen from the A92 and A913, the reporter said he was satisfied there would not be a significant visual impact from that particular viewpoint.

He also suggested the turbines would not significantly detract from the qualities of a number of locations in the area, such as Norman's Law, Carphin House and even the Fife Coastal Path.

However, the impact on a nearby walking route, namely Core Path 212, was deemed to be unacceptable.

''The route is very pleasant and tranquil, being hidden from the main road network by surrounding hills,'' he said.

''Unlike in the view from Norman's Law, views are of the valley itself, as longer distance views are blocked by the flanking hills.

''The proposal's prominent siting, man-made appearance and rotating blades would, in my view, detract from the enjoyment of users of this important recreational route.''

[democat101]

Subsidies for onshore wind farms 'to be axed by 2020'
Ministers are preparing to scrap all subsidies for onshore wind farms by 2020 in a major victory for campaigners against the controversial energy source.
David Cameron and George Osborne are to come down firmly on the side of those who object to payments currently worth £400 million a year to companies who produce onshore wind, The Sunday Telegraph has learned.

Despite opposition from the Liberal Democrats, who strongly support more renewable energy, the subsidy regime for onshore wind and solar panels is now firmly expected to be phased out by the end of the decade.

A senior Conservative source said: “This is now very much the direction of travel.”

At present, householders pay for subsidies to renewable energy producers through an extra charge on household electricity bills.

An email sent by Oliver Letwin, the Cabinet Office minister, makes it clear that financial support both for onshore wind and solar panels is expected to have “disappeared” within eight years.
Full Story.....here
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/energy ... -2020.html

[democat101]

Customers face bill for wind farms' closure
ELECTRICITY customers will get a bill for an undisclosed sum for a 10-day shutdown of the Kilbraur wind farm, Strath Brora.

That will be in addition to the £140,000 they will pay to compensate the neighbouring Gordonbush scheme for not producing electricity for three days, a fortnight ago.

The Kilbraur bill, to be passed on by its Italian owners Falck, will cover shutting down its turbines between 11th and 20th June to allow essential power line upgrade work in the Highlands.

The penalty paid to Gordonbush owners Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) – Britain’s biggest power company – will be in the form of so-called “constraint payments” which are regularly paid in huge amounts to compensate firms for shutting down operations to maintain a safe balance of electricity on the National Grid.

The region’s existing cabling can no longer accommodate the growing input of electricity generated by wind farms.

Industry watchers are furious that SSE will get £140,000 for the Gordonbush episode as it was only producing a limited amount of electricity at the time.

The newly-built 70-megawatt scheme was still running tests before officially coming on stream on 12th June.

An SSE spokeswoman confirmed the Gordonbush scheme was undergoing “final testing” and “wasn’t generating fully”.

Constraint payments have added around £16 million to customers’ bills in the past two years.

While thousands of Scots families struggle to heat their homes, SSE recently announced record profits of more than £1.3 billion.

When asked by the Northern Times for a comment, Scottish energy minister Fergus Ewing passed the matter on to colleagues.

In a subsequent statement, a Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “Scotland has astounding green energy potential and vast natural resources, and we have a responsibility to make sure our nation seizes this opportunity to create tens of thousands of new jobs and secure billions of pounds of investment in our economy.

“Constraint payments highlight that the grid must be upgraded to avoid unnecessary costs to customers.”

John Constable, director of the Renewable Energy Foundation, a UK charity that publishes energy data, said: “The consumer gets hit whatever happens – constraint payments if the grid isn’t built and the cost of the grid if it is.

“Extensions add roughly five to 10 per cent of the capital cost of the grid annually for the lifetime of the asset, which is about 30 years.

“In other words, if you spend £1 billion on grid extensions and reinforcements, then you add about £75 million a year to bills. That’s a total of about £2 billion over the lifetime of that grid asset.”

Allan Tubb of the LandScape protest group, which opposed the construction of several local wind farms, said: “With increasing energy bills, the UK and Scottish Governments must urgently overhaul the system of payments made to an industry that is driving people into fuel poverty.”

Retired Caithness construction consultant Stuart Young, who monitors the industry on a daily basis, added: “We can expect much more expensive electricity from wind without even getting the electricity.”

It is understood that Falck pays the National Grid around £1.5 million a year for its network connection.

A spokeswoman for the company said: “As we pay charges to remain connected, we will probably be entitled to a rebate of these charges for the period that connection was not possible, although the amount has not yet been established. This sort of routine maintenance happens from time to time.”

There is mounting pressure on energy regulator Ofgem to clamp down on a system that has been known to allow power companies more in compensation than the initial value of electricity on offer at the time of an overload emergency.

The highest constraint payment on a single day – 11th September last year – was £1.7 million, when 14 wind farm owners were compensated for switching off a total of 4,650 megawatt-hours of electricity capacity.

An Ofgem spokesman said: “We have long-standing concerns about constraint costs.

“This is why we welcome the Department for Energy and Climate Change’s (DECC) consultation on Ofgem receiving more powers to ensure generators do not abuse their position when constraints occur.”

The DECC claimed the impact of constraint payments amounted to “no more than a few pence per year” on a typical electricity bill.
http://www.northern-times.co.uk/News/Cu ... 062012.htm

[Kintyre Forum News]

Thought it was highlighted this press release from Argyll & Bute Council yesterday

21 TURBINE WIND FARM APPROVED BY ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL

A wind farm has been approved by Argyll and Bute Council’s Planning, Protective Services and Licensing Committee.

The development at A’Chruach, in Kilmichael Forest, west of Minard in Mid Argyll, will comprise 21 126.5 metre turbines.

Lead Councillor for Energy and Environment, John Semple said, “This wind farm has the backing of the communities of Mid Argyll and will boost the local economy in Kintyre if towers are sourced locally from the Machrihanish factory.

“It is recognised as being reasonably remote with a limited visual impact, so much so that the council received only one letter of objection to the proposal.”

The council supports national and international targets aimed at reducing dependency on fossil fuels and as such supports in principle the development of renewable energy regeneration provided that this type of development takes place in the right location. This development site satisfactorily meets environmental conditions thus ensuring that biodiversity, landscape and tourism economic interests are not adversely affected.

Argyll and Bute is well placed to contribute to the targets set for generating electricity from renewable resources by 2020. It is richly endowed with renewable wind and hydro energy.

For information on wind farm developments in Argyll and Bute go to :

http://www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/renewablesinfo/wind

[democat101]

U.K. Prepares Plan for Cutting Onshore Wind Subsidies
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-1 ... idies.html

The U.K. government is about to publish plans to cut subsidies for land-based wind turbines, capping months of debate within Prime Minister David Cameron’s government about the scale of incentives the industry needs.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change will make an announcement about the program “shortly,” a spokesman said in an e-mail. Energy Minister Charles Hendry said July 3 the plan will be published before Parliament breaks for summer July 17.

Cameron’s Conservatives and its coalition partners from the Liberal Democrat Party have been feuding over support for the industry, which Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne wants to reduce to keep a lid on electricity bills. Cameron took office pledging to lead the “greenest government ever,” and Liberals leading the energy department favor maintaining support for renewables.

The DECC “sees this as a slightly religious thing,” said Chris Heaton-Harris, a Conservative member of Parliament who joined 101 of his party’s lawmakers in seeking a subsidy cut. “I’ve learned in two years of being an MP the Treasury sees everything through pound signs.”

A government proposal last year recommended a reduction of 10 percent. There’s “every indication” there may be a political attempt to make the cut deeper than that, said Gaynor Hartnell, chief executive officer of the Renewable Energy Association, which expects the government to stick with its plan.
‘Dampening Effect’

“It’s incredibly important that industry thinks the government is basing its subsidy decision on evidence and not politics,” Hartnell said. “It would have a real dampening effect not just on wind, but on the whole energy infrastructure.”

Renewable Energy Systems Ltd., a Kings Langley, England- based developer, said two of its wind-farm sites would be at risk if the cuts were more than the 10 percent proposed.

“That would bring things to a grinding stop,” Gordon MacDougall, RES chief operating officer, said by phone. “The 10 percent cut we didn’t like, but we’ve grown to accept it.”

It would be “unheard of” for government to lower proposals it made after an evidence-based consultation, he said.

Energy Secretary Ed Davey told a conference in London last month it was critical investors and industry knew the government “won’t play fast and loose” with figures as it neared decisions.
Nearing Target

Heaton-Harris said the U.K. is already close to its 2020 onshore-wind target of 13 gigawatts, showing the subsidy’s too high. Onshore producers from April 2010 to March 2011 received 394 million pounds ($612 million) of support under the subsidy program, according to U.K. energy regulator Ofgem.

The money should go to other renewables and efficiency, he said. Britain has a target to get 15 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020 and plans to reduce support for onshore wind as turbines become cheaper. It got about 3.3 percent of its energy from renewables in 2011, BP Plc (BP/) estimates.

The incentive may be cut from one so-called Renewable Obligation Certificate, or ROC, a megawatt-hour to 0.9 of a certificate from 2013 to 2017, under DECC's proposals published in October. Bloomberg New Energy Finance estimates U.K. onshore wind may be profitable without subsidies by 2020.

The Renewables Obligation is Britain’s main support for large-scale clean energy programs. It obliges electricity suppliers to get a certain portion of the power they sell from clean sources, and they can meet their obligations by buying ROCs.

The new levels are expected to include increased support for some biomass and cuts to offshore wind from the current 2 ROCs to 1.9 ROCs for the 2015-2016 tax year. That’s not as steep a cut as an initial plan that awarded 1.5 ROCs from 2014.

[democat101]

Gaming the Electricity Markets, Wall Street Style
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2 ... reet-style

Hey, remember how Enron gamed the California electricity market back in 2000 and 2001, producing rolling blackouts and skyrocketing energy costs — and big profits for Enron? Well, it appears that it happened again in 2010 and 2011. There were no blackouts this time, though, just the big profits part. The profiteer this time around was our old Wall Street friend, JPMorgan Chase.

[democat101]

JPMorgan pressed on emails in US energy prices probe
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-18893856

US authorities investigating claims JPMorgan manipulated the electricity market have challenged the bank's refusal to hand over subpoenaed emails.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Ferc) is looking into complaints from grid operators in California and 11 Midwestern states.

The bank is accused of profiting from loopholes in the bidding process to drive up prices by some $73m (£47m).

JPMorgan cites attorney-client privilege in withholding the emails.

In court filings, Ferc lawyers argued that JPMorgan has previously released emails that were deemed privileged.
'Gaming the system'

"JPMorgan now asks the Court to protect other emails based on the same claims it made for the unprivileged emails, based on incompetent evidence," Ferc investigators wrote, adding "the bare fact of cc'ing an attorney is not enough to support a privilege claim".

The energy regulator is in the early stages of the investigation and said it had not found any wrongdoing so far.

Ferc does not normally disclose investigations, but it chose to subpoena JPMorgan after the bank made privilege claims over emails between top executives.

"Any such improper payments to generators are ultimately borne by the households, businesses, and government entities that are the end consumers of electricity," Ferc lawyers said in the subpoena.

In an email to Reuters, JPMorgan spokeswoman Jennifer Zuccarelli said the company had been responding to the investigation "into certain activities in our federally approved power business".

"We stress that this investigation is ongoing and that no conclusions have been reached or findings adjudicated," Ms Zuccarelli said.

Further details of how JPMorgan allegedly profited by gaming a bidding system in two related energy markets are outlined in the Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-h ... umn?page=1

[democat101]

The view? Gone with the wind: Our famous scenery and landmarks blighted forever by turbines
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... ds-newsxml

They are famous Scottish landmarks which have withstood wars, weather and centuries of change – but they could not escape the Scottish Government’s green agenda.

Many of Scotland’s most important tourist attractions now stand in the shadow of towering wind farms, as developers target every inch of the country for their turbines.

Even Stirling Castle, recaptured by the Scots from the English after the Battle of Bannockburn, has been sacrificed to the SNP’s green obsession.
Behind its ramparts are an ever-present army of 36 turbines, which dominate the skyline at 328ft high.

Centuries-old castles have had wind farms built disturbingly close, while golfers at the Royal Aberdeen club cannot fail to be put off by the 218ft monster windmill looming over the 14th hole.

Loch Greshornish, once surrounded only by crofts and coastline walks on the isle of Skye, now has Edinbane wind farm on its banks.
There are currently plans in place to build turbines higher than the London Eye on hills either side of Loch Ness.

Unspoiled landscapes across the country have now become noisy wind farms, a state of affairs which has been strongly criticised by Ramblers Scotland.

Prehistoric sites have been given no protection from planners to stop turbines being built close to them.
From north to south, there are as many as 1,800 turbines in place and hundreds more planned. Seven planning applications a day are lodged with councils by developers cashing in on millions in subsidies.
Tycoon Donald Trump notoriously compared the wind farm which could be built close to his £1billion Aberdeenshire golf course to building a ‘brutal 1960s-style block of apartments on Arthur’s Seat’.

Photos and comments..........http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... ds-newsxml

[democat101]

Forget lower subsidies, the wind industry has a much bigger problem brewing
http://www.moneyweek.com/blog/windfarms ... ices-23000

On the face of it, this has been a pretty good week for the wind industry. After a worrying month or so, in which George Osborne seemed to be listening to his party’s MPs, they appear to have got away with a mere 10% reduction in the large subsidies they get paid to produce (and sometimes not to produce) wind energy.

But if I were in the business, a piece of news that has received rather less attention might be making me feel just a tiny bit tense. The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) – which sets property valuations for the purposes of council tax – appears to have accepted that having wind turbines near your house can (and does) reduce the value of houses.

Until now, all suggestions that this is the case have been firmly rejected by the industry. But this week the Sunday Times reported the case of a couple living 650 yards from a large windfarm near Braunton in Devon. They aren’t trying to sell their house, but nonetheless, local estate agents value their house at £100,000 less than they did before the windfarm as was built, a result of the persistent noise and flickering (when the sun is behind the blades).

The result? The VOA has moved them from band F to band E. That saves them £400 a year. This makes sense.

We’ve written here often about land taxes and how land with the most value should be taxed more than other land. Council tax is the closest thing we have in the UK to a land tax, and it seems right to me at least that a negative land tax should be applied to property blighted by noise loud enough to be considered a statutory nuisance by the VOA.

But if you were the owners of such a property would that be enough? I suspect not. So what would you do about it?

My guess is that, now you had definitive legal proof that your finances had been materially affected by the windfarm, you would sue the windfarm developer. That’s exactly what Jane Davis from Lincolnshire did in 2008. After having her request for a council tax cut approved she went on to sue the windfarm owners (including EDF) in the High Court. The case ended last year in a settlement that included a very tight confidentiality agreement (although according to the Sunday Times, the windfarm owners bought the house from Davis).

So how big a problem is this for the windfarms? So far, at least five homeowners have had their properties re-banded as a result of windfarms. But the real number is probably much, much higher – only those applications that go to appeal are made public. “We do not record the number of occasions where a band challenge is made by a taxpayer due to the proximity of a wind turbine/farm”, says the VOA.

I don’t suppose this will stop the blanket of turbines moving across the country, but if all the homeowners suffering losses as a result of them sue, it is going to make the windfarm owners even more grateful than they already are to the Lib Dems and their efforts to keep subsidies high. It might even make them think twice about siting huge turbines within shadow distance of people’s bedrooms.

[north beachmore]

Well hopefully this will discourage developers from siting these things close to other peoples houses and they can site them close to their own instead..

[Isa]

I don't have a strong opinion one or the other about this subject but after passing the Drum Farm yesterday I can honestly say I have never seen anything so ugly on farmland before. It is so much in your face as you turn the corner at Kilkenzie it seems criminal to have allowed this application. What an eyesore.

[Pans Lass]

I don't have a strong opinion one or the other about this subject but after passing the Drum Farm yesterday I can honestly say I have never seen anything so ugly on farmland before. It is so much in your face as you turn the corner at Kilkenzie it seems criminal to have allowed this application. What an eyesore.

Got to agree Isa, I nearly crashed the car when I went round the corner and came 'face to face ' with them , what an eyesore !!! I am not against windfarms but the locations I am . The Tangy ones look ok as they are not in your face . Imagine waking up one morning and opening your curtains to see that .....well thats what happened to the neighbouring farmer last week .

[Bonnie Lass]

There will be 26 , much larger ones for Glenbarr if that windfarm goes through, four have been moved back slightly from the road but still close to the village (one was going to be right next to the A83) they willl be within easy sight and an absolute eyesore for miles around - will planning department take this into account ?

http://cregganwindfarm.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/february-2012-creggan-community-event-exhibition-board-5.jpg

NB: I see there is a structure further back at Drum Farm, is that a "test" one for another turbine ? Its dark but can be spotted if you look carefully (better if the passenger does it).

[kintyreturbinewatch]

For all those concerned about unsuitable locations of wind turbine proposals, a public meeting will be held by Kintyre Turbine Watch on Thursday 2nd August at 7.30pm in the Carradale Village Hall. All Welcome