Shetland windfarm - Viking Energy

[PJ of Hildisvik]

Well that's the cables sorted out, now how to hide the as big as quite a few football pitches converter station? Please don't say plant Leylandii hedges

[Nigel Bridgman-Elliot]

Underground..

 

You wouldn't even need to dig a hole to hide it in, just cover it and plant stuff on top, then it would just look like another hill..

 

A few trees would be nice, but something a little nicer perhaps than Leylandi, what grows well there, produces useful wood and roots only go down so far so as not to cause issues with buildings underneath ?

 

 

If it needs to be air cooled (sea cooled perhaps ?) perhaps underground but with a court yard open to the elements, similar to this:

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/dariuscc/PrzemyslPoland#5094747672940109602

[paulb]

so we have use for one of the giant quarry sites then. what about the others if we planned it well we could have a small hydro system going like the one in wales water runs down when we need power and is pumped back up when there is spare power.

[Grafter]

I thought that the Shetland Times did quite good features on the windfarm debate. The absence of comments on the articles would seem to confirm this. Both the pros and the antis would seem to be satisfied.

I see that VE representatives are off to some Wind Energy conference. Perhaps some nice person will point out to them that Shetland is not a suitable place for this kind of development. In spite of the the obvious but still highly variable wind here the problems with the terrain and the transmission distances make this a highly questionable proposal.

[ArabiaTerra]

... I see that VE representatives are off to some Wind Energy conference. Perhaps some nice person will point out to them that Shetland is not a suitable place for this kind of development. In spite of the the obvious but still highly variable wind here the problems with the terrain and the transmission distances make this a highly questionable proposal.

A rather sweeping statement, would you care to back it up with some evidence? Or is it just your personal opinion?

 

The "obvious but still highly variable wind" makes the Burradale wind allotment the most efficient in the world, and by quite a large margin.

 

"the problems with the terrain" What problems? Specifics would be nice, or are you just buying into "sustainable" Shetlands lies and distortions about how the windfarm will destroy all of Shetlands peat, even the bits nowhere near a windmill (and how their rather vague community- based alternative will avoid doing the same even though, it too, will require windmills on top of hills, a hell of a lot more hills and windmills than the VE proposal.).

 

"and the transmission distances" Which are a problem due to the unfair pricing policy currently in operation. But this is not an engineering problem or a practical problem in any way. It is a bureaucratic problem, and as such can be solved with the stroke of a bureaucrats pen.

 

If you have solid practical objections to the proposal then fair enough, lets hear them, or if you just don't like windmills, then just say so. But you should be aware that we are going to get windmills whether you like them or not. Either the VE proposal covering a small part of Shetland, or the "sustainable" Shetland option which will require hundreds more, smaller, windmills which really will cover all of Shetland and which will require a backup system which will involve continuing to burn fossil fuels whatever they end up costing (unless, of course, you would be happy with a nuclear power station in the islands).

[aa]

I read the article in the Shetland Times this week and agreed with quite a bit of it. I am an outsider who is planning to move to Shetland but I must confess that I don't understand the Council's apparent eagerness for the project. It really does seem to be a case of all the eggs in one basket. If there were other parties who appeared to be keen to get in on the deal, then I could understand the council's eagerness to get a slice of the action as a way of guaranteeing some prosperity in a post-Sullom Voe future. The fact that other developers don't appear to be falling over themselves to develop similar projects makes me suspect that the sums can't be that compelling. In that case, why take such an almighty gamble?

[paulb]

thats the joke its not the councils money they had to (sell) their share of ve to the trust. as a trust they seem to be forgeting that they are there to insure the money is used for shetlands future. this should also mean no more iffy loans to friends and family members of councellors. also the money leant should be classed as a priority debt lets us have our money back before forgein banks. if the VE scheme can be made to earn then thats good but if the tidal power thingies will produce more then we should go with them or a combination.

[PJ of Hildisvik]

I just hope Priest and Thomson are enjoying their "Jolly" doon to London, cos when this shambles of a project gets thrown out, there won't be anymore!

[PJ of Hildisvik]

And AT who said Sustainable Shetland are going to cover the Isles in hundreds of smaller turbines??????? FACTS PLEASE!

[ArabiaTerra]

And AT who said Sustainable Shetland are going to cover the Isles in hundreds of smaller turbines??????? FACTS PLEASE!

The "sustainable" Shetland alternative to the VE proposal is "community schemes". This means windmills along the tops of the hills surrounding every community in Shetland. Seems simple enough to me, 150 giant windmills, or multiple hundreds of smaller ones.

[paulb]

im afraid P.J. that it wont get kicked out. when they get there finger out and start the planning stage its to late. an option would be an apeal to the charity commision. as its a charitable trust they would have to prove the investment was not gambling the communities money away. i think they would have to show that the community was in favour of the scheme.

[Njugle]

And AT who said Sustainable Shetland are going to cover the Isles in hundreds of smaller turbines??????? FACTS PLEASE!

The "sustainable" Shetland alternative to the VE proposal is "community schemes". This means windmills along the tops of the hills surrounding every community in Shetland. Seems simple enough to me, 150 giant windmills, or multiple hundreds of smaller ones.

 

Oh, I see what you mean, you don't want any around Lerwick, well fair enough that is a popular response.

 

In an ideal world I would happily see twatree Burradale windmills, or in more rural areas ones like the country halls already have, on the hill above my conurbation providing a district heating scheme of sorts, saving power station generation and hydrocarbon emissions. Who can be offended by a windmill the size of a streetlamp? I would be happy with some solar panels on the roof heating my water and even a small wind generator heating the water too. I would also happily dig up the garden to install a heat pump. I would welcome financial assistance to do this and be happy to pay it back over time to the local energy company in proportion to the energy and, more importantly, kerosene central heating oil that would be saved.

I would also be happy for all the local Shetland Times to be shredded (and the others of course), chemically treated with fire retardant and pumped into my walls and loft for insulation.

I would happily see areas of the seabed set aside for tidal turbines, giving a joint benefit of conservation for fish and benthic species and tidal generation..

And if someone is crazy enough to table a plan to generate 200-500 jobs in perpetuity with a Nuclear Power plant here then I'm not averse to that either.

 

But then, I'm just a selfish nimby who doesn't want giant turbines up the road from me and couldn't care less about the planet.

[Medziotojas]

^I like the cut of your jibe

 

The way ahead for Shetland must be self-sufficiency. Why should we cater for the masses when it's perfectly within our means to look after ourselves? I'm not being elitist; I'm only saying that the windfarm is based on making bucks. We can do our bit for the environment (and it will be mutually beneficial for our populace) without lining the pockets of the few.

[ArabiaTerra]

^^^ Ah, Njugle, you misunderstand me. I have no problem with wind turbines of any size which is why I support the VE proposal as the most practical, efficient and, above all, profitable option. I was merely pointing out the hypocrisy of "sustainable" Shetland who are opposed to the VE proposal, yet want to cover the land (and dig up the peat to do it) in smaller turbines.

 

BTW, I don't think windmills the size of street-lights would be sufficient for the "community" schemes sus-shet intend. They might do for a house, or a country hall which is only used for a few hours each week, but to provide useful power for schools, leisure centres and, above all, care homes which must be heated and lit 24hrs a day, you would require several turbines much larger than street-lights. Something more akin to half-sized Burradale turbines, I suspect.

 

And even then, without the inter-connector, a full scale diesel power station would be required whenever the wind fell. Very expensive and hardly "sustainable" (not to be confused with the back-up generator the VE proposal requires which would be run on a care and maintenance basis and only be used if the cable were actually severed).

 

Edit: Actually, before I get flamed for this, I will admit I know nothing about how much use the country halls actually get. In fact, if anyone on a hall committee reads this and could comment on how effective the wind turbines are, I would be grateful.

[MuckleJoannie]

 

Edit: Actually, before I get flamed for this, I will admit I know nothing about how much use the country halls actually get. In fact, if anyone on a hall committee reads this and could comment on how effective the wind turbines are, I would be grateful.

 

I was informed a while back by one hall committee member that the heating cost saved equalled the cost of insurance for the windmill.

 

By the way I have heard that community councils may be asked to canvass opinion in their areas on how the public view the scheme.