Shetland windfarm - Viking Energy

[derick]

attempted desecration of the whole central mainland of Shetland for the sake of filling the coffers of a few selfish and greedy landowners who just simply cannot wait a few more years for marine energy to catch up./quote]

 

Maybe I'm taking you wrong but that sounds awful like your basic Shetland jealousy to me.

 

How can you 'desecrate' a landscape that is already deforested and degraded by 5,500 of human mismanagement?

[Skyumpi]

 

How can you 'desecrate' a landscape that is already deforested and degraded by 5,500 of human mismanagement?

 

Derick,

 

I you take a walk round the Maa Lochs or along the spine of hills from Weisdale to Voe or follow one of the burns to its source then you would maybe understand why so many people think "desecrate" seems a suitable word for what VE has planned.

[stilldellin]

attempted desecration of the whole central mainland of Shetland for the sake of filling the coffers of a few selfish and greedy landowners who just simply cannot wait a few more years for marine energy to catch up./quote]

 

Maybe I'm taking you wrong but that sounds awful like your basic Shetland jealousy to me.

 

How can you 'desecrate' a landscape that is already deforested and degraded by 5,500 of human mismanagement?

 

Would you care to explain and expand a bit on this " basic Shetland jealousy " issue you are on about derick. I lived in Yell for years and it seems to be something I have missed out on. Also, who were these 5,500 humans ?

[Redrobbie99]

Derik Converting peat into oil was done on a commercial scale on lewis for many years untill a manager cooked the books and ran of with all the cash and the company went bust .I believe the process involved boiling the peat which produced a kind of tar this was distilled to produce oil .The process also produced gas which was used to fuel the whole process.

[derick]

attempted desecration of the whole central mainland of Shetland for the sake of filling the coffers of a few selfish and greedy landowners who just simply cannot wait a few more years for marine energy to catch up./quote]

 

Maybe I'm taking you wrong but that sounds awful like your basic Shetland jealousy to me.

 

How can you 'desecrate' a landscape that is already deforested and degraded by 5,500 of human mismanagement?

 

Would you care to explain and expand a bit on this " basic Shetland jealousy " issue you are on about derick. I lived in Yell for years and it seems to be something I have missed out on. Also, who were these 5,500 humans ?

 

5500 years, obviously. It is a setterday and I am doing idder things apart fae arguing aboot windmills.

 

I am actually been on da Weisdale hills numerous times - very nice but nevertheless you canna eat scenery. I would FAR have preferred Viking to go in the North Isles than the central mainland.

 

People forget how dirt poor Shetland was before the oil - which is a very temporary phenomenon. Pre-oil folk built bits of businesses up out of nothing - absolutely nothing - at a time when it seemed the Isles were finished. Employed a few folk, sank their money into an old fishing boat or a knitting machine. And when the oil came much of that was swept away overnight as it couldn't possibly compete. Very traumatic for some at the time and a real slap in the face for people who had struggled to keep the place alive. But now, I think very few would say on balance the oil was a bad thing.

 

And the same is the case for renewable energy. 40 years from now we will look back (well I likely won't as will be deid, or 90) and wonder what all the sound and fury signifying nothing was about.

 

It is interesting, is it not, how many of the objectors seem to either work in the oil, have worked in the oil, or for one of the semi-parasitic hanger on organisations with which Shetland is excessively 'blessed' - all of which also depend on the oil. Maybe at some subconscious level they find renewable energy a threat.

 

As for basic Shetland jealousy - well I think that is at the root of many objections to many things. "...filling the coffers of a few selfish and greedy landowners". as you say. Take the 'Hodge affair'. Pure jealousy to stop a man that was providing a service and trying to make a living.

 

There was a guy wanted to to set up a salmon hatchery on our common grazings while I was misguided enough to have a croft and B....sheep - same spurious objections 'the sheep will drown in the dam'( A Good Thing too I say) blah blah. Had to go to the bother of going to the bloddy grazings meeting to support it despite not really liking the man and thoroughly disapproving of him being in the toompushers. But at least he was willing to TRY.

 

As long as I live I will never understand why whenever someone tries to do anything, some other body immediately decides to try and stop them.

 

En passant - that there is a windfarm in detailed planning straight across the valley from my hovel - which is rather fantastic as I will be able to watch the turbines from the comfort of my sitting room. Just about exactly 2km from me. And there is the same sort of campaign of spurious opposition to that one (largely led by some misguided members of my SNP branch I might add). Total spurious nonsense. And likely to be another on the hill up behind me - well within the dreaded 2km (I will probably just keel over and die, the hens will go off the lay and the dog will get worms, just from having them there. Not. Why we'll be up to our oxters in dead birds. Not that we'll notice from the constant epileptic fits from the evil shadow flicker. Also not).

 

Same spurious nonsense at one that came a few years ago - public meetings, outrage in the local press. blah bloddy blah. Total rubbish. Some complainers moaned that there would be big lorries coming up the road. Muggins made the point at the public whinging meeting that the company could come up the road in a Sherman tank of the thing is licenced and insured. Those have been running for years - you can go right up to them - 3mw turbines - and all you hear right UNDERNEATH the turbines is soft 'whoosh'..........'whoosh'......quieter than the wind on the hill. Why I was lucky to survive the experience.

 

All that said OSCR was probably correct to call a halt til after the election. And if we recall there was a candidate who made this his main issue at the last SP election. He didn't get in.

[Ironwithin]

^^^^^Totally agree with you Derick

[hairyian]

What a pity derick is not standing for election.

A few more sensible practical folk like him running things is what the community needs.

[stilldellin]

^ from among that outpouring from Derick :-

. I would FAR have preferred Viking to go in the North Isles than the central mainland.

 

Believe it or not Derick I posted many moons ago that the interconnector should be brought ashore at Belmont and the wind farm stuck on top of the solid rock of Vallafield and the Easting of Unst ( no peat to disturb ) but only if the people of Unst were consulted. They would probably have gone for it but as AT has previously pointed out, too many SSI's.

I can assure you with my age and where I live I will never be bothered with wind turbines but I do feel for all these people in the central mainland who have never been asked . The whole project in my eyes is completely crazy, all this pointless environmental damage in the construction phase plus the extremely dubious costings when the simple thing to do is sod all for another ten years or so until marine energy catches up.

How can we put any credence on a company who did not plan for Scatsta ( stand by South Yell ) and then try to tell us of carbon payback of less than one year ! Then we have the good old CT who are no longer able to hold a meeting, simply incredible.

As for jealousy, totally wrong there, never been jealous in my life....

[Infiltrator]

Browsing youtube - is this a new video from sustainable Shetland?

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQxXKzdmhvk

[keetiebairdie]

It seems that ProVE supporters have just woken up since the VE begging bowl has been left empty again.

[derick]

If Scatsta (and yes VE should have seen that one coming) is going to prevent renewable energy - and I am thinking of Blawfield particularly, then Scatsta should be closed forthwith. There's a perfectly good and hugely underused airport at Sumburgh and a diversionary field in Baltasound.

 

It's not either onshore wind, or marine renewables - we need both. And both are just a part of the mix needed to deal with Peak Oil and climate change.

 

Energy efficiency being the largest. The £7 billion being wasted on 2 aircraft carriers with no planes could build 46,600 brand new houses built to Passivhaus standards which wouldn't need any heating system

[stilldellin]

Cud we no just drag yun twa carriers nort dan, close baeth Sumburgh and Scatsta and get on wi it. Du micht even a gotten een o yun Pasivhaus hooses an dan maybe du cud laev dy hovel tae de hens !

[PJ of Hildisvik]

^^^^^^^ SUPPORT OUR TROOPS!

Close Scatsa to build a windfarm, jesus i've heard it all

Keep taking the pills.

[Seaflech]

If Scatsta (and yes VE should have seen that one coming) is going to prevent renewable energy - and I am thinking of Blawfield particularly, then Scatsta should be closed forthwith. There's a perfectly good and hugely underused airport at Sumburgh and a diversionary field in Baltasound.

 

Talk about cutting off your nose in spite of your face!

How much revenue does Scastsa generate compared to the few turbines that would be built around it if it wasn't for the airport?

It's a bit of a sweeping statement to say that Scatsta is preventing renewable energy - I can't see tidal or wave power affecting aircraft.

 

Sumburgh isn't 'perfectly good' at all. How often is it fogged out for long periods of time during the summer? Granted Scatsta has weather issues too, but it doesn't suffer haar the same way Sumburgh does.

Baltasound is totally unsuitable as a diversionary airfield. It is only around 640metres long, way too short for the aircraft currently being used. Scatsta's runway is 1360metres so to even match it Unst would have to be extended by 720 metres. Given that the recent extension to Aberdeen airport cost £10m for 124metres of extra tarmac, it would cost £57.6m to get Unst up to the same size. Coupled to that, currently if aircraft divert between Scatsta/Sumburgh they are at least on the same land mass. Try accommodating a couple of hundred bears at short notice on Unst, or on Yell if the ferry breaks down, or is cancelled because of the same weather that caused the aircraft to divert.

The overall problem is that if Shetland makes it too difficult for the oil companies (operating to/from Scatsta) to operate, they will simply up sticks and relocate somewhere else.

Can you see the flaw in your plan?

[paulb]

the antis hero at work again. if by any chance you do gang up with him be aware he does not care once the farm near his golf course is stopped he will drop you lot ust as fast.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/news/4284613/Donald-Trump-is-really-taking-the-pass.html

yesi know its the sun but still.