Bright Eyes

We are not talking about an isolated windfarm stuck in the middle of Highland Scotland where it could easily be 10 miles from the nearest habitation, ie out of sight out of mind..... This happens to be in the middle of Shetland. 10 miles in any direction from the proposed site covers a huge chunk of the Island, and thats 160 jumbo jets, plus towers. Don't forget Folk in Aith , Vidlin, Weisdale, Voe, Nesting etc are going to be a mile or so from these things. A drive up the north road will put you within a few hundred yards. What does a jumbo jet stuck on a 90m post look like at 500m????- Maybe Petrocelli could enlighten us.

I fail to see why you are so against turbine size simulations. There seems to be a general lack of understanding about the scale of this development and anything which can aid folk to understand this and focus their minds should be welcomed. (even godzillas) I thought the sanitycheck one was pretty good, infact both were pretty good As I said earlier I will pass judgement on Sustainable Shetland when they have fully set out their stall next week. Any sensible person will be doing the same - in many ways the future of Shetland is at stake here and every viewpoint and option needs to be fully considered. I have already asked questions and no doubt will be asking a few more, and probably a few to Sustainable Shetland. However, to use your much hated jumbo jet analogy- if I am potentially being forced to live at the end of Heathrow's new runway then I would be wise to seek information from every source and not rely on the clearly positivly spun information published by BAA. Exactly! It would seem that in some areas you are as short of hard facts as the rest of us!

Unfortunately until VE publish some detailed designs, the long awaited scale model, perhaps a little bit about the effects of low frequency noise and infrasound etc etc. - imagine is all you will be able to do. They seem very reluctant to publish anything..... why else do people seemingly have no idea of how big the turbines are or what the converter station will look like.(re recent earlier posts). Little wonder that the public feel justified in posting their own scale drawings. As for Sustainable Shetland, I think we should wait untill they have held their public meeting before we pass judgement on what they stand for. I suspect they will get more public approval than VE got at the public meeting I attended last year!!

And what pray is the carbon expenditure of this operation. I do not believe you can dig up and replant virgin peat without considerable damage to it. And don't forget the consequences of altered drainage to the hill etc.

I can't see that the amount of peat cut for burning would add up to the amount which is going to be destroyed by the VE project. The obvious solution is to build enough turbine capacity to supply Shetland either free or free for an allowed amount. We would then not need to cut peat, and we would not need the huge number of turbines required by VE, hence the environmental damage is kept to a minimum. Shetland would be 'doing its bit' towards solving climate change and we would perhaps be able to afford to live here. AND we would not be risking so much of our financial nest egg. Is this too simple......... of course it is - there would be no massive income for the greedy who are hoping to profit under the guise of the climate change banner.

Thanks for the artwork Petrocelli. Thought you had retired????. Maybe VE should re release their photos with a bit more realism and a little less spin. I sincerely hope that he has explained this to SSE. For information this written by Merkin. Don't think I'm old enough to remember this, would be interesting to see a picture though.

Getting back to the windfarm- Having viewed the simulations of Dave Hammond and Twerto I have been having another look at the photo simulations on the VE website. http://www.vikingenergy.co.uk/draft_images.asp I will concede that these are only simulations and I am no expert but the more I look the less convinced I become of the accuracy of what we will actually see. Some of the pictures seem to miraculously 'loose' turbines in the distance. eg the picture from Hellister Weisdale under scenarios A and B. My monitor may be old but I can't see any turbines in the picture. Studying the layout map there is a line of turbines along the west side of kergord valley and a cluster of 9 + on the hills at the head of the valley. If we consider how visible the Burradale turbines are from various points around Shetland, and the fact that the Weisdale transmitter is less than 50 m high and highly visible from a lot further away than where this view is taken, then I do not believe that turbines of 140m height will disappear into nothingness as this photo suggests. Then there is the view in photo 2b Weisdale, clearly taken just north of the Mill. This is deceptive to the public on a number of counts. 1. It is a conveniently narrow field of view, so it can not show the line of turbines immediately to the left which will be towering over the viewer. 2. For the same reason it does not show the line of 12 + turbines stretching north along the Kames which the viewer will be able to see by turning his head a few degrees to the right. 3. The image only shows 6 turbines, the ones behind have again 'disappeared.' Then look at Image Kergord scenario A which is taken from roughly the same spot as the one above. In this one the turbines seem to have shrunk considerable and are marketly thinner. OK- so this might be a different layout and they may be slightly further away but VE needs to make it clear exactly where these things are going to be sited and then produce simulations which give the public a REALISTIC view of how Shetland is going to look if scheme goes ahead, not simulations subject to the best possible spin. How about a simulation of what this converter station will look like complete with all the pylons etc. Yes - the P word- something else VE has so far failed to mention.

Going back to an earlier point, I think the ability to post anonimously for some people is an important consideration. There are a lot people in Shetland who for various reasons are very reluctant to say in public what they really think. After all, it is not so very long ago that we were being threatened with legal action for discussing the 'activities' of our chief executive.... Did I mention that?

Rumor has it that this councillor was spotted at the Walls teas this afternoon...... taxied by minibus. If this is true its going a bit far - even on her record