OpenView Online OpenView Online
Country Guardian's Newsletter Number 55 Autumn 2009
COMMENT
This is the first edition of Openview to be produced online. There are several reasons for the change, but the basic point is that virtually all its readers have access to the internet, and the money spent distributing it as hard copy can be used more effectively in the fight against windfarms. The important point is that Openview lives on and will be far more effective with its electronic links worldwide.
The second half of 2009 saw the UK government’s response to the dire state of the windfarm development industry, as Ed Miliband brought out his latest energy report, threatening us with thousands of new turbines, both at sea and on-shore. In early January 2010 Gordon Brown announced plans to build 6000 turbines offshore, as part of the Miliband plan. Despite the government propaganda to the contrary, 90% of the jobs will be outside the UK .
Then we had Al Gore’s latest disaster movie-Terrible, Terrible Copenhagen, with Climategate and the coldest Winter for 30 years. As we look forward to the election, probably in May, we must understand and question the political parties, who are all prone to be bamboozled by the propaganda of those who have so much to profit by windfarms.
Finally we had the publication in October of John Etherington’s book The Wind Farm Scam. You must read this book if you are at all concerned about windfarms (and definitely if you are not concerned!). The book grew out of the Case Against Windfarms, created by Robert Woodward and developed by John. To recognise this event we have re-structured the website to coincide with the sequence of the book’s chapters. In this way we hope readers of the book can explore the issues in more detail on the website and, importantly, follow developments as the campaign evolves
Founded by Joseph Lythgoe
Patrons The former Lord Bishop of Hereford (The Right Rev. John Oliver) and former MP Colin Pickthall
Past Patron : Rt. Hon Neil Kinnock, former leader of the Labour Party
President Nigel Evans MP Vice-President: Sir Bernard Ingham
Chairman : Angela Kelly
The National Campaign to oppose wind turbines in Britain 's precious landscapes and promote energy conservation
www.countryguardian.net
With the introduction of OpenView Online we shall save the printing and distribution of large numbers of hard copy booklets, saving a considerable amount of money, time and wood. The same sort of material will be there, with internet links to the relevant articles, papers, news items, and Country Guardian’s Contacts and Background, Policy, List of Windfarm Action Groups, The Case Against Windfarms, etc.
We realise that in some cases a member may need a particular document and will not have the technolgy to access this. In these cases Country Guardian will be prepared to produce a copy. Please contact Gerry Sewell on 01697 321 170
Changes to Country Guardian’s web site
With the publication of The Wind Farm Scam the Home Page has had a makeover. Its layout and links have been reorganised to fit in with the structure of the book. In this way we hope readers of the book can explore the issues in more detail on the web site and follow developments as the campaign evolves.
Part 1. Links to Country Guardian
Officers, Contacts and Background
List of Wind farm Action Groups
Regional Analysis of Wind farm Action Groups
Part 2. Autumn 2009. Review of the second half of 2009
Introduction.
The change to OpenView Online makes it possible to report on a much wider spread of our information sources, which are world-wide. As much as a ‘newsletter’, OpenView now becomes a half-yearly digest about wind farms, mostly, but not solely, covering what is happening in the UK. The news about wind farms tends to concentrate around a number of topics, which are current and relevant.
In this edition of OpenView-online we shall be concentrating on the following topics:
1. Ed Miliband's plan published in July to "increase radically the the amount of renewable energy in the UK"
2. The Government's announcement early in January 2010 of the issue of licences to build 25,000MW of offshore wind around the British Isles.
3. "Climatgate/Copenhagen/Freezing winter".
4. Are the climate change slush funds proving too tempting for some people?
5. BWEA name change
6. Wind Farm projects.
7. Extracts from the FELLS Newsletter
8. Rare Elements - a threat to wind farms/
1. On July 16th 2009 David Miliband, minister of Energy and Climate Change, presented a plan to increase radically the amount of renewable energy in the UK
Specifically he proposed to increase “fourfold” the number of turbines, onshore and offshore, and do this by 2020. This plan generated a vast amount of documentation and comment, not only from DECC but from a wide range of organisations, journals, newspapers and real experts in the subject. The fallout covered all the areas which would be impacted if the plans ever got implemented, including landscape destruction, wildlife, the electricity grid, planning, jobs, but above all the weakesses of wind energy itself.
Each reference on this list contains a short comment and a link to the relevant article.2. On January 8th 2010 the Government announced the issue of licences to build 25,000MW of offshore wind around the British Isles. This was followed by articles which also pointed out the difficulties :
The Times Environment Editor pointed out "Nine giant new wind farms in the seas around Britain will be announced today, but few of the 6,000 turbines needed are likely to be built here. British Wind Energy Association was enthusiasic of course but pointed out that " The winning consortia will face several challenges, including a lack of offshore connections to the national electricity grid and limited capacity in the supply and installation chain for windfarms" "The scale of round three will require a dramatic increase in manufacturing capacity for offshore wind, such as turbines, foundations, offshore electrics and installation vessels," said the . "We need to ensure the UK benefits through a boost in manufacturing, engineering and skills: but this will only happen if additional action is taken by the government through working actively to create coastal manufacturing hubs," said Maria McCaffery, BWEA chief executive. The Guardian observed : Nine wind power consortiums have signed agreements with the Crown Estate, which has responsibility for renewable power in UK waters, to take their proposals through the planning stage. Only five of the nine have British companies involved in the partnerships – two of those with minority stakes – and the pace was largely set by Germany with E.ON, RWE and Siemens, who were all substantial winners. Centrica, the parent group of British Gas, was the only British group with a majority holding in any of the winning consortiums, but Scottish Power and SSE Renewables took a stake in development areas such as the Dogger Bank and Firth of Forth.3. Climategate, Copenhagen, and the coldest winter for 30 years
Whilst Country Guardian accepts the physical laws which ensure that a CO2 molecule in the atmosphere tends to reflect some of the heat emitted by the Earth - the greenhouse effect - we are sceptical about the degree to which it is responsible for recent warming, particularly when we see that it is now cooling. We do agree that the world needs to cut back drastically on the use of fossil fuels. But whatever the pros and cons of that argument we have no faith in wind power.
3.1 Climategate
The Climategate scandal broke out at the end of November 2009, when hackers targeted the University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit and published the files, including some personal messages, on the internet. Here are some reports of what went on, but anything in this area should treated with care. Not enough science has been done to get to the truth and , in lieu of that, what we see is missiles flying in both directions.
Source
Heading / sub heading
Mail Online
By Fiona Macrae21st November 2009
Hackers 'expose global warming con':Sceptics claim that leaked emails reveal research centre massaged temperature data
The Sunday Times November 29, 2009
Jonathan Leake, Environment Editor
The great climate change scandle
Leaked emails have revealed the unwillingness of climate change scientists to engage in a proper debate with the sceptics who doubt global warming
The Sunday Telegraph
29 Nov 2009
Climate change: this is the worst scientific scandal of our generation
Our hopelessly compromised scientific establishment cannot be allowed to get away with the Climategate whitewash, says Christopher BookerWALL STREET JOURNAL NOVEMBER 30, 2009
The Economics of Climate Change
The stakes are too high to treat Climategate as just another academic spat.
The Spectator 13 December 2009
3.2 Copenhagen.
The Climate meeting in December 2009 was, in the contex of its expectations, a failure. This left a lot of soul-searching behind, some of which is reflected in these articles:
Source
Heading / sub heading
The Guardian
16 December 2009
“Setting the Scene”
Connie Hedegaard resigns as president of Copenhagen climate summit
...and John Prescott informs us that "Climate Change is not just about maths"
Meanwhile the Danish "Politi" are allegedly deploying tear gas, and notwithstanding global warming,
activists are experiencing "bitterly cold weather" outside the Bella centre...
Der Spiegel
12/07/2009
An Incredibly Expensive Folly
Why Failure in Copenhagen Would Be a Success
An essay by Bjorn Lomborg
Scotsman on Sunday 20 December 2009
Gerald Warner: Finally, the great climate change lie begins to unravel
3.3 Winter interrrupts
As the Copenhagen Conference came to an end the coldest winter for 30 years struck the Northern hemisphere
The Mail on Sunday 10th January 2010
The mini ice age starts here
By DAVID ROSE
The bitter winter afflicting much of the Northern Hemisphere is only the start of a global trend towards cooler weather that is likely to last for 20 or 30 years, say some of the world’s most eminent climate scientists.
From The Times January 5, 2010
Charles Bremner in Paris and Richard Lloyd Parry Tokyo
Arctic freeze and snowArctic freeze and snow wreak havoc across the planet
By KATE LOVEYS
Daily Mail05th January 2010
Gas shortage fears as demand surges 30% in cold snap
4. Dubious practices
Sunday Telegraph 20 Dec 2009
Christopher Booker and Richard North write.
The head of the UN's climate change panel - Dr Rajendra Pachauri - is accused of making a fortune from his links with 'carbon trading' companies.Denmark rife with CO2 fraud
Authorities in several countries investigate VAT tax fraud stemming from the Danish CO2 quota register Denmark is the centre of a comprehensive tax scam involving CO2 quotas, in which the cheats exploit a so-called ‘VAT carrousel’, reports Ekstra Bladet newspaper
December 13, 2009Officials cover up wind farm noise report
Jonathan Leake and Harry Byford
(Stephen Daniels)
New York Times December 13, 2009
By DOREEN CARVAJAL“Cash is king,” said Andrew Campanelli, a forensics investigator for Deloitte Financial Advisory Services in New York. “In a down economy, individuals might be more inclined to need more cash. They might look at green energy as a mechanism to use ill-gotten funds.”
With Wind Energy, Opportunity for Corruption
The northern trade winds of the Canary Islands have long tempted daredevil windsurfers, but now the gusts rising up to 60 kilometers per hour are attracting giant wind turbines and the millions of euros behind them.
Sydney Morning Herald
CLANCY YEATES AND JACOB SAULWICK
December 24, 2009
Green energy scheme 'a fraud'
KEVIN RUDD'S environmental agenda is under attack on two fronts, with the country's biggest private renewable energy business declaring his green power target at risk of failure.
As criticism of the emissions trading scheme grows bolder after the fractured Copenhagen summit, AGL has labelled the administration of the the renewable energy target a fraud.
5. BWEA changes name to RenewableUK
New name and logo approved at AGM
Tuesday 22 December 2009
"Thirty one years after the founding of the British Wind Energy Association (BWEA), 5 years after it started representing companies from the wave and tidal energy sector, and 12 months after the start of the rebranding consultation process, the members of BWEA have approved a name and logo change. The Association will now be called RenewableUK. The blue logo consisting of three wavy lines will be replaced by the 'green spark' logo."
Keep your eyes open!
6. Windfarm Sites - Reports
Lichfield Express & Star 7 January 2010
Plans for a massive wind turbine on the outskirts of Lichfield which would stand almost 50 metres taller than the city’s cathedral have been branded a “joke” by city MP Michael Fabricant.
Friday 24th July 2009
Frends of the Golden Valley reform
A GOLDEN Valley campaign group has reformed after potential wind farm plans were uncovered more than six years since previous proposals put residents in a spin.
Friends of the Golden Valley aired its concerns this week after Vagar Hill, Cefn Hill and Cusop Hill near the Black Mountains were thought to have been included in a national consultation by Scottish and Southern Energy plc subsidiary Airtricity searching for suitable sites countrywide.18 Aug 2009
http://www.wind-watch.org
Campaigners fighting wind farm plans in Stinchcombe are given extra time
Campaigners trying to put a stop to a wind farm with eight 120 metre turbines near their homes have been given extra time to object to an initial monitoring mast. Green energy firm Ecotricity is planning an eight turbine wind farm on land between Stinchcombe and the M5.Press and Journal 19/08/2009 Windfarm application rejected amid mass public
opposition
Scheme near Cairngorms national park thrown out
PLANS for a windfarm on the ridge of a popular north-east hill which attracted hundreds of objections have been thrown out by councillors. The bid for a seven-turbine scheme near Cushnie, Alford, was unanimously rejected yesterday in the wake of mass public opposition.
Daily Post
North Wales News
Oct 7 2009
Campaigners oppose Denbighshire windfarm proposals
BUILDING three wind farms within eight miles of each other could be disastrous for tourism and the environment. That’s the fear of campaigners as a total of 61 turbines are being proposed or planned in an area of great natural beauty. Earlier this year Denbighshire County Council approved plans for a 16-turbine wind farm to the east of Llyn Brenig. Currently, a public inquiry is being held into a 13-turbine development at Nantglyn, and there are proposals for 32 turbines in the Clocaenog Forest near Ruthin.
BBC News Wednesday, 14 October 2009 Windfarm plans given green light
Fifteen 400ft-high wind turbines are to be built after controversial plans were given the green light.
The government's Planning Inspectorate gave the go-ahead for two wind farms despite opposition from conservation groups and local planners. Coronation Power was granted permission to build at Crook Hill, two miles north of Rochdale in Greater Manchester, and Reaps Moss, near Bacup in Lancashire.
Press & Journal 28/10/2009 Contentious isles windfarm gets go-ahead
Concerns over proximity of development to protected moorland and eagles
Western Isles planners have approved the go-ahead of a controversial windfarm located near to protected moorland and golden eagles.
And last night the RSPB said they were extremely concerned at the decision to approve the six-turbine development.
The Pentland Road scheme outside Stornoway was originally mooted nearly eight years ago but was delayed by objections from air traffic control and aviation bodies.
Updated 28/08/2008
GORSEDD BRAN - VICTORY !
Congratulations to all who helped achieve this very important victory.
This is a truly magnificent achievement against all the odds.
“The site is in Area A of the Strategic Search Area (SSA) as designated by the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG)
in Technical Advice Note 8 (TAN 8). Gorsedd Bran also sits within the refined area as designated by the joint
Denbighshire/Conwy County Council Interim Planning Guidance (IPG).
Despite being within a designated wind farm development zone and contrary to the recommendation of Council Planning Officers
the scheme has been refused planning consent.”http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/
wales/8393867.stm
Published: 2009/12/03 17:16:47 GMT
Offshore wind farm plan scrapped
Plans for a wind farm in the Bristol Channel have been scrapped, say the developers.
Work on 30 turbines, each 400ft (121.9m) tall, at Scarweather Sands off Porthcawl, had been expected to start this year. But the two companies behind the project, DONG Energy and E.ON, said it was no longer commercially viable. South Wales West Conservative AM Alun Cairns said many local people had been against the development. The £100m scheme was postponed for two years in 2006, when the developers said it was not financially viable. The work had then been earmarked to start in 2008-09. But DONG Energy and E.ON said the challenging seabed conditions, the relatively poor wind speeds and a restriction on turbine height, means Scarweather, with just 30 turbines, was no longer commercially viable.
“ Put simply it has become clear that Scarweather Sands is not the best place to build a small scale offshore wind farm ”
Dave Rogers of E.ON
Congratulations to the Brechfa Forest Energy Action Group. and all who have helped achieve this wondeful victory !
[ The sea view which would have been ruined by this windfarm is at the top of this webpage]09 December 2009
Action Group SHOWT have made themselves heard!
Firm loses Hempnall windfarm appeal
An energy firm hoping to build a windfarm on the edge of a Norfolk village yesterday lost an appeal bid aimed at overturning a decision to refuse the plans. Diss based Enertrag UK had hoped to overturn a planning decision by South Norfolk council which had refused permission for the firm to build seven 125m wind turbines at Hempnall last August. The plan had been turned down on the grounds it would have an impact on the character of the area and be detrimental to local listed buildings. In September a planning inquiry was held to determine the fate of the plan and yesterday inspectors upheld the original decision after considering the effect on nearby St Margaret's Church, turbine noise, visual amenity and the impact on the local bat populations.
South Norfolk MP Richard Bacon welcomed the decision.“This decision is a victory for common sense,” he said. “The inspector has clearly listened to strongly expressed local views that Bussey's Loke was not the right site for a wind farm. I am particularly pleased that he has recognised the inherently attractive “human” scale and quality of the environment.” Mr Bacon said it would be better for the environment if future wind farms were built at sea.
“In order to take advantage of the benefits of wind power we should go off-shore, where it is much windier,” he added. “It would then be possible to have large scale developments and big economies of scale, without the intrusion which this type of development on-shore will inevitably cause in a gentle rural landscape.”[A picture of the scale model of the wind turbine in the village setting is shown at the top of this web page]
7. Three extracts from the the newsletter of FELLS (Friends of Eden Lakeland and Lunedale), printed by permission.
A year of Public Inquiries and Fund Raising
This has undoubtedly been our hardest year since FELLS was founded.
We made written submissions to Public Inquiries at Newland Farm near
Carlisle and Hellrigg near Silloth. The result of the former is still awaited
but sadly, the latter development proposal was approved. We also gave
evidence at the Berrier Hill PI which is currently adjourned until January
26th due to illness of one of the witnesses for the Council and took a full
part in the Grise wind farm PI which finished this month. At Grise (at
Skelton north of Penrith), FELLS took on the role of ‘lay advocate’ for the
local people who did not have the resources to hire a professional. In
addition we gave evidence and advice to those who wished to speak in
their own right. A good case was put but it was always going to be a hard
one to win. The result should come through in February or March.
The greatest effort however, has been centred around the Armistead
and Sillfield PIs, two sites in the Kendal Low Fells within 2 km of each
other but from different developers. To contest these, an umbrella group
was formed called the Countryside Protection Consortium of South Lakes
(CPCSL). FELLS was the ’lead’ organisation in this consortium but other
member- groups were ABlot and STOP (formed in Old Hutton and
Gatebeck to spearhead the local fight). In addition LandscapeFirst
(fighting the Hutton Roof proposal) as well as several Parish Councils and
other organisations joined. CPCSL was chaired by Rob McQuarrie from
Gatebeck. As you will realise, this was a real team effort in every sense of
the word with upwards of 25 people heavily involved in one way or
another. Everyone deserves the highest praise and everyone played their
part in full.
Our case for both Inquiries used Geoff Sinclair as our lay advocate and
landscape specialist. Geoff did a great job, was always accessible, showed
infinite patience even when under pressure, and was able to draw on his
huge experience of windfarm PIs (over 70 to date). We also had the
excellent services of Lee Hoare, a data analyst who specialises on wind
farm noise. All of this cost a lot of money and during 2009 we raised over
£36,000. There have been open gardens at Whelprigg, Whittington Hall,
and Rigmaden Park (the latter with a delightful musical evening),
Auctions of Promises, coffee mornings, and direct appeals for donations.
Friends of the Lake District kindly donated £2,000 to our cause. Thank you
all for your generosity. There was very little support for the wind farm
locally except for the predictable tirade about climate change from ‘Green’
groups. As you can see from the rest of this newsletter the fight goes on.
The Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC)
The IPC was set up under the recent Planning Act and is expected to make its first decisions in March or April
next year. It is only supposed to apply to wind farms greater than 50 megawatts onshore and 100 megawatts offshore
but there are already signs that the Government is seeking to bend the rules to include smaller wind farms. This
might happen by ‘bundling’ two or three smaller wind farms together to exceed the 50MW, or by downright cheating.
The Department of Communities & Local Government has already written to Chief Planning Officers and the
Planning Inspectorate suggesting that National Policy Statements (NPSs) are ‘significant material considerations’
even for smaller schemes. This is not only a deception but is illegal as the NPSs have to be approved by parliament
before they can figure in the decision-making process. A Government such as this does not deserve to survive.
Climate Change Debate ‘Hots Up’
What is happening in the world of climate change? You may well ask. In the frenzied
run up to ‘Copenhagen’ scare stories abound and every politician and his dog are clamouring
for press space and brownie points. But the world stubbornly refuses to get any
warmer. In the last 15 years there has been no statistically significant warming trend
whilst since 1998 it seems to have cooled despite a rise in CO2 level of 5% in that time.
To add to the frenzy we have had the revelations that the Hadley Climate Research
Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia appears to have been less than honest with
the truth and may even have manipulated data to ‘prove’ that humans are responsible
for climate change. And that from one of the four top climate monitoring organisations
in the world on whose results trillions of dollars are being spent. While Channel 4 and
newspapers gave this story full coverage and the US media are hot on the trail the BBC
gave only limited coverage. The BBC has forfeited any basis it ever had for respect.
We have also had three books published recently which add fuel to the flames and
cast serious doubts about past and future strategy. The first, Sustainable Energy—
without the hot air by Professor David MacKay (free as a download from the Internet
or £17.99 from Amazon). As a Professor in the Department of Physics (Cambridge), he
has analysed the contribution renewables could make to our energy needs but without
taking sides in the climate change debate. Soon after the book appeared he was made
Chief Energy Advisor to Ed Miliband. His conclusions pose serious questions for the
Government’s push for renewables, notably wind power. The second is The Wind
Farm Scam by John Etherington, a well known ecologist. It is a small book, well written
and should be essential reading for anyone concerned about the future of the UK countryside
covered in wind turbines (£6.48 from Amazon). It asks and answers all those
questions about the utility of wind turbines, how they work and whether they can deliver.
The title of the book says it all. Essential reading. Finally Christopher Booker’s
The Real Global Warming Disaster traces the convoluted and hardly believable way
in which this story has been ramped up for political and financial gain (£9.86 from Amazon).
It poses the question; Is the obsession with climate change the most costly scientific
blunder in history? The most likely answer seems to be ‘Yes’. A gripping read.
In recent polls 92% of people said they believe global warming data is being manipulated
for political ends and over 60% don’t believe the global warming hype put out by
Government. If you remain doubtful read the 16-page Skeptics Handbook on line (just
put this into the Google search engine). Simple but focussed on the key issues.8. Rare Earth Elements
Once extracted and refined, the rare earth metals can be put to a dizzying range of hi-tech uses. Neodymium, one of the most common rare earths, is a key part of neodymium-iron-boron magnets used in hyper-efficient motors and generators. Around two tonnes of neodymium are needed for each wind turbine. Lanthanum, another REE, is a major ingredient for hybrid car batteries (each Prius uses up to 15kg), while terbium is vital for low-energy light bulbs and cerium is used in catalytic converters.
In October, an internal report by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology disclosed proposals to ban the export of five rare earths and restrict supplies of the remaining metals. Beijing strenuously denied that the document was an accurate reflection of its strategy, saying it had no desire to reduce trade in rare earths. But The Independent understands that the level of demand in China means that supplies of at least two crucial REEs – terbium and dysprosium – are likely to be curtailed by as early as next year.
Dr Ian Higgins, general manager of Birkenhead-based Less Common Metals, which specialises in rare earth products, said: "There is a threat that in the next 12 to 18 months, there might be some quite severe shortages of these rare earths. That is certainly going to impact those hi-tech green industries outside China."
The Independent Saturday, 2 January 2010 Leading article: An elemental challenge for China and the world Beijing would be foolish to hoard supplies of rare earth materials
The Independent Saturday, 2 January 2010
Precious metals that could save the planet
Rare earth elements are driving a revolution in low-carbon technology. Cahal Milmo reports on the commodity that has become the new oil