Anti-Wind Claims

All the statements debunked below can be found on the Stop Benington Wind Farm website or in their campaign material. A good selection of rebuttals for other anti-wind arguments can be found here.

The landscape of Benington could be changed for ever

Indeed it could, if we don't manage the switch to clean energy sources. Climate change threatens to cause irreversible damage to our environment with serious and far reaching consequences.

By contrast, there is nothing permanent about a wind turbine. It can be dismantled just as easily as it can be erected and no waste or contamination is left behind.

Wind farms are an eyesore

Clearly, this one is a matter of opinion. Many people consider wind turbines to have a certain grace and beauty, especially when compared with conventional forms of power generation such as Oil, Gas and Nuclear. Which one would you rather arrived on your doorstep ?

Wind farms and birds

David Bellamy claims that `It is not green. It destroys the landscapes, it chops up birds, it chops up bats'. See here. A more sober view is offered by the RSPB:-

Providing wind farms are appropriately designed and sited, they do not pose a significant threat to birds. The RSPB supports a range of actions to tackle climate change, which we believe to be the most significant, long term threat to biodiversity worldwide.

Also interesting to note that at the Swaffham Ecotech Centre in Norfolk, they've not had single birdstrike in 8 years of operation.

The efficiency of the national grid

`Using the National Grid to distribute electricity is inefficient - When electricity travels along the national grid there are leakages into the atmosphere. The UK wastes approximately 30 billion kWh of electricity a year; this is equivalent to 8% of the national supply or the yearly output of two medium-size power stations'.

True enough but that's just physics, any system that moves energy from A to B inevitably loses something in between. Loses of 8% is another way of saying that it's 92% efficient, a figure that can hardly be described as poor.

While we're on the subject of efficiency, let's remember that a typical coal fired power station wastes a shocking 60% of the energy generated in the form of heat escaping through the cooling towers. In fact, the poor efficiency of our current energy generation strengthens the case for a local, decentralized approach. Read here what Greenpeace has to say about the current state of the UK's energy generation.

Government targets

`Their target is 10% of electricity from renewable sources - mainly wind power - by 2010, rising to 20% by 2020. According to energy experts, this is an unrealistic goal because of the vast number of wind turbines required and their need for 100% backup from traditional power plants.'

Meanwhile over in Denmark they're meeting 20% of demand now through wind power. This is forecast to rise to 25% in 2008. Clearly, if they can do it, so can we. Find out more at the Danish Wind Industry Association.

Supply and demand

`During periods of high pressure weather systems that bring cold winters and hot summers, wind speeds are at low levels but demand is at its highest. In other words, when demand is highest, wind power makes its minimum contribution. The output from wind turbines, besides being weather dependent and therefore unreliable and unpredictable, is extremely low in comparison to conventional power stations.'

In fact, wind energy matches to demand very well. Electricity demand is higher in the winter, and winter months are also the windiest, as this chart from the British Wind Energy Association demonstrates:-

Carbon Dioxide Emissions

`It is better to reduce the DEMAND for energy than it is to generate MORE energy via renewable sources. In view of possible energy shortages, the best way forward is to save energy and to help reduce the growing demand for energy. Energy conservation would reduce carbon dioxide emission and it would also be the most economical option.'

Such is is size of the emissions cuts that we need to make, both demand reduction and renewables are required. In the strategy document Zero Carbon Britain, the Centre for Alternative Technology concludes that 'Only when demand has been reduced through new approaches and attitudes to energy use does it become possible to meet the nation's energy needs with renewables.'