Linda Holt of SAS commented:

The SNH wind farm maps are worse than useless – indeed they are dangerous because they lull the public and decision-makers into a false sense of security about the extent of turbine development in Scotland. Indeed if we go on the number of turbines we actually see erected, we might think the situation in an area such as Fife is not too bad – but of course we do not see the scores of turbines which have consent but which have not gone up yet.

Cumulative impact is now a significant issue with every single turbine application in Scotland, yet how can it be accurately assessed if the body charged with safeguarding Scotland’s landscape works from such hopeless data? Not only isSNH starved of the resources to be able to do its job properly, but as its Chairman Andrew likes to remind members of the public who ask him why SNHis so ineffectual in saving Scottish landscape and wildlife from the scourge of turbines, SNH is duty-bound to support the government’s ambition for 100% renewable generation by 2020.

It is left up to local groups like EFTAG, ACWAG and CAWT to compile accurate data for their own corners of the country. These groups are run by volunteers and have no funding, but they are doing the essential work that is the duty of government, local authorities and SNH. But of course comprehensive data at national level is missing, which is essential for responsible policy-making.

Turbine development in Scotland is out of control – no one, not SNH, not the Minister for Energy, not senior renewables planners know how many turbines we have put up or consented. Even worse no one in the Government has any idea how many turbines we need, or we could or should accommodate, even though everyone knows the more turbines we have, the greater the damage to landscapes, homes, wildlife, tourism and the wider economy.

The First Minister may dream on about a Saudi Arabia of Wind with his eyes and ears firmly shut, while the wind industry merrily creams off massive subsidies, doing Mr Salmond’s dirty work for him.

What about the rest of government? Local authorities, planners, SNH and other senior civil servants struggle on, overwhelmed by applications and ham-strung by a permissive planning system controlled by central diktat.

Central wind diktat insists there are huge environmental and economic benefits, but no one can see them. The figures for carbon-saving are the result of an accounting trick and there is empirical evidence showing wind farms en masse will actually increase a country’s emissions. No one has seen the thousands of permanent Scottish jobs promised by the wind bonanza because they do not exist – at least not in Scotland.

By contrast, increasing evidence for the economic and environmental harm wreaked by growing numbers of industrial turbines is before our eyes – dying tourism businesses, once desirable properties no one wants to buy, sterile industrial wind farm landscapes which once brimmed with wild life. Even Salmond’s wind faithful are beginning to refrain from denouncing such evidence as “merely anecdotal” as desperate people beat a path to their offices, and take to the streets in protest*.

Graham Lang, Chair of Scotland Against Spin comment on SNH data regarding w/farm visibility:

People viewing this data will be shocked to the core. In the space of only four years SNH admits the area of Scotland affected by wind farm development has doubled. Of the turbines we can see in Scotland now, roughly the same number has been consented but not yet erected, and the same number again are in the planning process, so the situation is actually far, far worse than SNH is admitting. In fact since the wind farm maps used by SNH are so ridiculously inaccurate and out of date, I doubt SNH even knows how bad the situation really is.

The SNH data is already out of date as many more turbines have been erected since 2012, and the latest map although dated August 2013 contains much information that is just wrong as well omitting many smaller developments.

The information from SNH proves that wind farm development is out of control and much of the country is beyond saturation point. The Government has no plan for how many wind turbines Scotland should support, and its wind policy consists of little more than a gold-plated invitation to international speculators.

No one has asked the people of Scotland if they want to live in a country overrun by giant industrial turbines, and as communities, homes and businesses suffer ever-increasing environmental, economic and visual blight from rampant development, the only question is how long the Government at Holyrood can carry on promoting this epic disaster.

Notes

* PERTH, OCTOBER 19 – see http://demo.scotlandagainstspin.org/

Attached is the latest map of turbines for the north-east of Fife. The map has been prepared for EFTAG – East Fife Turbine Awareness Group.

The relevant and latest SNH map is here: http://www.snh.gov.uk/planning-and-development/renewable-energy/research-data-and-trends/trendsandstats/windfarm-footprint-maps/

Please compare the two – you will see that there while the EFTAG local map for just one part of Fife lists 191 turbines, the SNH map shows the tiniest fraction for that corner of Fife (only 8 developments).

Even the information for the developments listed shows it is wildly out of date:

It lists the University of St Andrews wind farm as screening when the actual application was made in May 2011. As a statutory consultee with multiple concerns over visual impact, SNH has been heavily involved at all stages of the process.

Bonerbo, Drumrack and Balmonth is listed as an application but it was approved in July 2013 and there is now a screening application for a further turbine on the site

Troywood is listed as an application but it was withdrawn in April 2011

Clentrie was approved in April 2013

Clatto and Devonwood wind farms were both rejected at appeal in November 201

In fact comparing the maps of the 8 developments SNH shows there is accurate information for only one of them (the Hydrogen Centre turbine at Methil).


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1 Comment

bill kay · January 5, 2014 at 2:38 pm

if you would like info on this email me

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