15/10/2010

This week the Kent Messenger reported from the Parish Council planning meeting to discuss the scheme. Concerns were raised about possible damage to peoples health caused by low frequency noise (LFN) or infrasound. We have written to the KM pointing out that this work was largely discredited and that independent research commissioned by the DTI found no evidence for it. A detailed discussion on LFW can be found here

12/10/2010

Castle Farm was mentioned in the Maidstone edition of Downsmail this week. The article was very well balanced in it’s reporting of the technical facts of the scheme and avoided using emotive and sensationalist language.

24/09/2010

Castle Farm was featured in the Kent Messenger again this week with reports that 60 villagers attended the Parish Council Planning Committee meeting. In a more balanced article it gave significant column space to the owner of Castle Farm.

We are sorry that some villagers felt the need to complain about a lack of consultation – there were in fact not one, but two public meetings held back in July and we have tried to publish as much information on the Project Page as possible including a video of (and directions to) a turbine of the same model, photo-montages and 3D Google Earth Fly-overs.

Judging by the comments expressed in the newspaper it would seem the same un-founded objections are being raised yet again; nearby houses will not suffer from noise or vibrations and the turbine is very unlikely to visible from Wrotham other than a small speck on the horizon… in fact to test this play “spot the turbine” in this photo-montage take from the viewing spot at the top of Wrotham Hill. Note that to make the turbine visible at all we had to use a zoom of 90mm which is nearly twice the focal length of the human eye!

In 2003 the DTI undertook a survey of public attitude towards onshore wind projects and found that 85% of the general population was in favour. More surprisingly among respondents living near to wind farms the approval rate was even higher at 94%.

Put into perspective – by todays standards the proposed turbine is actually quite modest, the application is just for one turbine and there are already pylons running across the site.

17/09/2010

The Castle Farm scheme made page 6 of the Kent Messenger Newspaper this week with typically sensationalist reporting using some quite emotive language :

“A WIND turbine towering 101ft over farmland has come a step closer to being built after plans were submitted this week. Energy company Distributed Generation wants to build the mast at Castle Farm, East Farleigh. The plans have already been met with local opposition, after public meetings were held in Coxheath and East Farleigh.

Documents submitted to Maidstone Council include a noise survey, which claims that the only property that will suffer high noise levels is Castle Farm itself.”

  • Towering? The turbine would be sited very close to existing high power overhead electricity pylons and of similar scale. Maidstone BC concluded the turbine would not have a significant effect on the local landscape in their Screening Response. The wind turbine will be 44.5m to blade tip – less than half the size of a typical large scale turbine such as those near New Romney on the Kent Coast with blade tips as heigh as 120m.
  • Opposition? In addition to some opposition there has been a good deal of support shown also. At our public meetings, objections were in the minority. At each of the public meetings we have run at this and other sites, we have been pleasantly surprised at the level of support received.
  • Noise? We use industry standard modelling software (windpro) using internationally agreed algorithms (ISO 9613-2) and accepted manufacturer supplied noise data (the V27 has been in production for over 20 years) as mandated by the current planning policies.

Happily, the article did correctly mention our offer to share the financial benefits of the wind turbine by way of a community investment scheme and an annual donation to the Parish Council for the life of the scheme.

The “artists impression” given is actually a photo of the same model turbine that can be viewed by anyone visiting the Wood Green Animal Shelter near Huntingdon,  situated in the peaceful Garden of Remembrance .

It’s simple – before you make up your mind go and visit the V27 wind turbine at the Wood Green Animal Shelter in Cambridgeshire.

..or why not take a look the most common wind turbine myths.

If you choose to support Castle Farm you have the opportunity to help, albeit in a small way, save our climate from the largest challenge mankind has faced to date. Whatever the opposition, its undisputed that wind turbines generate clean energy that combined with other renewables such as wave, tidal, solar and geo-thermal will meet the UKs international CO2 reduction obligations and reduce our dependence on imported fossil fuels… provided we act rather than just talk.

Some energy facts:

  • In 2007 the UK produced over 200 million tonnes of CO2 per year from the Energy Sector alone
  • In 2008/2009 Kent County Council activities produced 120,000 tonnes of CO2
  • The South East region is likely to meet less than 60% of its 2010 renewables target and much less of the 2020 target
  • The UK is now a net gas/oil importer – the first time since North Sea oil came on stream.
  • Most if not all of the worlds present “mega” oil fields were discovered in the 60s and 70s. Oil discovery is at an all time low and actual reserves are highly guarded national secrets.
  • For a mid-sized wind turbine the new Feed-In-Tariff guarantees an index linked rate of 22p per kwh for 25 years. This is not funded by the government – it is funded by consumers.