Shetland windfarm - Viking Energy

[unlinkedstudent]

If Londoners and southerners gobble up all the lecky, then blooming build the windfarm in Essex

 

Its for Scotland.

 

You'd be happy to push what you see as a problem to somewhere else?

 

Great attitude. I don't have an opinion on the windfarm but if its such a problem I wouldn't wish it on any county.

 

Sorry, didn't mean it to come across like that. The area I mentioned is so industrialised there is no way that they could build it on that scale in Essex (so I was actually being sarcastic). Of course I wouldn't want a windfarm of that size built anywhere and I'm sure there could be other locations where a windfarm would not have such a vast environmental impact as in Shetland but granted, on a smaller scale.

[Infiltrator]

maybe the vote should be for those living here.

 

Wouldn't agree with that - I might want to move back at some stage, and toursists should also be consulted - after all it'll drive many tourists away from the isles (I've suggested to sustainable that they should be canvassing tourists leaving the isles, after visiting, over the summer period to get their opinions)

 

What's tourism worth to the isles again? It's £millions

[paulb]

sorry but the vote has to be for registered shetland voters. there is no other way to do it. if you don't live here then your say can't count. thou its just as valid. and it should not count in any petition.

 

unlink have you been up to were they are proposing to build them. not too many houses on the site. the bird thing is debatable and the peat disturbance is not as great as certain parties make out. building anything in the north of shetland will result in disturbed peat.

 

sullom moved more peat than is going to be shifted this time. there was no major destruction of the natural habitat.

 

if you get a chance have a look at the area. is bare blanket bog.

 

the farm is going to get approval even if we all voted against it. i know it stinks but what is the greater good that count. unless we realise the truly bad state the world is in will we realise that we have to have these sites.

 

if London or any other city could supply the amount and reliability of the wind then it would be logical to build there but they can't compete so that's why it needs to be up here.

 

there is also the need to spread the farms apart to prevent peak loads and gaps the further apart the more chance of there being wind.

 

by the way how are you coping with the harsh weather you have had since moving up. be assured you will get to understand the great supply of wind that we are blessed with.

[PJ of Hildisvik]

Well sorry Paulb i cannot accept anything you have just said

Ticked the VE box then?!

[paulb]

what bit. i hope your not taking off islanders signatures on the petition.

[ArabiaTerra]

Well, Paulb, I don't fancy miles of peat being destroyed, nor do I fancy birds being killed

Climate change, unlinked? How do you you propose to shield Shetland's birds and peat from that? Oh, well actually you can't. And that will do far more damage than this windfarm ever will.

Of course I wouldn't want a windfarm of that size built anywhere and I'm sure there could be other locations where a windfarm would not have such a vast environmental impact as in Shetland...

Build it anywhere else and it has to be twice the size to produce the same power, make it smaller and it's pointless, it can't replace enough fossil fuel power capacity. We need windfarms and they have to be big. There is no other option available.

 

The latest studies say that to keep climate change to a manageable level (>2C) by the end of the century, we have to begin reducing our CO2 output by 2015, round about the time the VE windfarm will come on line. No other technology is developed enough now to achieve this.

[unlinkedstudent]

^^Blimey I don't half feel under personal attack here or perhaps it is because I haven't fully woken up yet.

 

Build it anywhere else you say: if you read my thread earlier, you'll see that I suggested local windfarms. Who says we have to have this massive one right here, and that instead we couldn't roll out other smaller windfarms?

 

We don't just have to rely on wind. I have a friend in Spennymoor, County Durham, who has got solar panels.

 

If huge profits weren't such a big concern because let's face it, it is not environmental issues or stopping/slowing down climate change that these large companies are interested in, they just want a great, big, fat wad of dosh for their shareholders/board; then smaller wind farms would be more feasible. There is no reason why (although I'm sure someone will post one) as to why smaller, alternative projects couldn't be done.

 

You go to other countries on holiday and see little wind turbines and solar power. Even in Spennymoor the solar panels are making a difference to my friend's bills.

 

If more properties had their own wind turbines/solar panels, would there be such a need for a huge windfarm then?

[paulb]

your not under attack.

 

solar panels are of course not that much good. they never pays for itself. plus having very long nights for 1/3 of the year does not help.

 

yes these big companies are out to make money. lets face it would you want to invest into something that does not.

 

the fact that the sites are not so environmentally important as the anti's are trying to make out. they are bleak and not used for more than a few sheep.

 

people mistake the loss of a view as enviro damage this is just not so. we have a view of the wind farm at the moment. as were a twenty odd mile drive away from them i was surprised to see them. but they are not a blot on the land scape. in fact they are quite attractive. and a good guide about what the weather is doing.

 

im still not convinced by the money involved its all still guess work.

[OriginalUsername]

If more properties had their own wind turbines/solar panels, would there be such a need for a huge windfarm then?

 

Simple answer? Yes.

 

Every little only achieves a little. We need big projects to fix big problems.

 

Still, that doesn't mean I am against small scale projects. Achieving a little is still achieving a little. But it won't be enough for energy security or halting climate change.

 

You may believe the VE proposal is not about the environment but if you'd really researched the current state of our consumption and our planet, you'd find that it most certainly is.

 

Of course, it is also a lucrative investment. But the reason for this is because science has dictated to politics which has attempted to dictate the market, this one message - we need large renewable projects to save our planet and we need them now.

 

So yes, wind farms make money, but the reason they make money comes from the need for large-scale energy change to protect the global environment and future energy security.

 

I honestly don't know why people are complaining about the money side of things. A huge chunk of the profit will be going directly into Shetland. This kind of situation is basically unheard of in such a lucrative business venture.

 

Perhaps it's just the new "in" thing to cut of your nose to spite your face.

 

Still, we could just chuck this project out the window and let the big boys come in and develop without us. One particular company were investigating the possibility of a 1000 MW wind farm (nearly double the VE proposal) before VE took centre stage, if I remember correctly.

[ArabiaTerra]

^^Blimey I don't half feel under personal attack here or perhaps it is because I haven't fully woken up yet.

 

Build it anywhere else you say: if you read my thread earlier, you'll see that I suggested local windfarms. Who says we have to have this massive one right here, and that instead we couldn't roll out other smaller windfarms?

 

We don't just have to rely on wind. I have a friend in Spennymoor, County Durham, who has got solar panels.

 

If huge profits weren't such a big concern because let's face it, it is not environmental issues or stopping/slowing down climate change that these large companies are interested in, they just want a great, big, fat wad of dosh for their shareholders/board; then smaller wind farms would be more feasible. There is no reason why (although I'm sure someone will post one) as to why smaller, alternative projects couldn't be done.

 

You go to other countries on holiday and see little wind turbines and solar power. Even in Spennymoor the solar panels are making a difference to my friend's bills.

 

If more properties had their own wind turbines/solar panels, would there be such a need for a huge windfarm then?

Little wind turbines and a few solar panels on peoples roofs won't cut it. We're talking about saving the planet here. We're talking about replacing gigawatts of coal and gas fired power stations. The solution has to be massive, because the problem is massive. That's the bottom line.

 

So why here? How about because for the last 60 years our electricity has been massively subsidised by the big stations south, because we have grown rich on fossil fuels over the last 30 years, because building it here saves twice as much land as building it anywhere else.

 

We could build a few more Burradales, put solar panels on every roof and we would still need Gremista for when the wind falls at night. And the cost of that would be in excess of £200,000,000. That's the bulk of the oil money gone, and the return would be nothing more than the cost of our electricity bills. That's "sustainable" Shetland's big idea, blow the oil money for nothing, and it wouldn't save the hills, or the birds. Climate change will take care of them anyway, the peat will dry out and the birds will starve just like they're doing anyway. By building this windfarm and hundreds more like it up and down the coast of the UK, both onshore and offshore, we might stand a chance of limiting the effects of climate change, minimising the damage. Without it, we've got no chance.

[cheryl.hughson]

http://www.ukbap.org.uk/UKPlans.aspx?ID=21

 

paulb, blanket bog is a good thing.

[ArabiaTerra]

^^^^ Yes, blanket bog is a good thing. But only by slowing down or stopping climate change will we be able to save it. That's why the windfarm is good for the peat. If we don't build the windfarm and hundreds more like it, there will be no bog to worry about. Check this out. It kind of puts the million m3 of peat removal for the windfarm into perspective, doesn't it?

[OriginalUsername]

^ Indeed, and VE have said that the money generated from the wind farm could be used to invest in maintaining Shetland's peat lands and wildlife, if this was considered a priority for Shetlanders. And obviously it is a priority, so building the wind farm could actually end up being very beneficial to an area of Shetland which is currently deteriorating. And is also a net carbon emitter because of this deterioration.

[cheryl.hughson]

Which is why we need to preserve the Blanket Bog, not disturb it in any way, whatsoever.

 

This means not building on it, not digging it up, not using it for fuels, not walking on it, not driving on it. List is endless.

 

Construction sites should maybe be preferred on peat-less land. In places where energy consumption is high they should provide themselves with the main whack of power. Resulting in less carbon footprint all around, due to the fact you wouldn't need to look far for power.

[Infiltrator]

We're talking about saving the planet here.

 

You demonstrate to me that the emerging nations are doing their bit to save the planet and things like wind farms might move up the priority list in my eyes.

 

Why should we destroy Shetlands landscape when energy efficiency and emissions feature so low on the priority list of some of the fast emerging nations.

 

As has been discussed on here before, global population growth and emerging nations thirst for economic development are huge contributors to global warming (if it exists). Building a huge windfarm on Shetland may ease some folks conscience but is pi55ing in the wind (pun..) on a global scheme.