Activities

THE PLANNING APPLICATION HAS BEEN SUBMITTED

The proposals have become a reality. A planning application for a wind power station at Cotton Farm was submitted by Npower to Huntingdonshire District Council on 30th July 2008. The application and accompanying Environmental Impact Assessment are available via the HDC website. Follow this link, then type in Application No. 0802296FUL and click on the "Search" button.

We are waiting for HDC to advise us of the consultation period, but it is likely to be six weeks and the Action Group is preparing a comprehensive objection document.

The letter writing now needs to start in earnest – to your local parish councillors, district councillor, MP and the relevant planning officer at HDC. All the addresses are available on this site. Cotton Farm Action Group will be organising letter writing events in local villages and will let you have full details soon. Letters to Planning Services should not be sent without the planning application reference number (0802296FUL). Click here for guidance on relevant objections to include in your letters.

Centre For Policy Studies publish "Wind Chill - Why Wind Energy Will Not Fill the UK’s Energy Gap" by Tony Lodge

The report concludes that:

"wind energy is proving to be an unreliable, costly, uncompetitive and unpopular horse in the great energy race. Overdependence on wind energy and the resultant costs to electricity consumers risks plummeting more and more families into the fuel poverty trap."

Click here to read the report in PDF format

Dept for Business Enterprise & Regulatory Reform (BERR) launch consultation on UK Renewable Energy Strategy

The Government plans to build 4,000 more wind turbines onshore - that is a huge number when you consider we have 2,000 now! They are inviting views from members of the public and CFAG is currently preparing a response.

There is a very large consultation document. We would encourage people to read the relevant chapters where wind power is discussed, particularly The Executive summary and Chapter 3. Deadline for responses is Sept 26.

Click here for the full details

Accident with Aeroplane Destroys Action Group Blimp

The Action Group's 20ft "Stop the Wind Farm" blimp flew over Great Paxton on May 10, but only for ten minutes before what seems to have been a collision with an aeroplane ruptured the blimp and it fell to the ground. The plane is thought to have been flying below the 500ft limit since the blimp was tethered at 417ft – the height of the wind turbines proposed for Cotton Farm.

Nevertheless, a replacement blimp was soon flying and could be seen from many miles away with clear sightings from Hail Weston and all along the Ouse Valley Way.

See press release for more details and keep an eye on the website for forthcoming flying dates.

Andrew Lansley MP backs Wind Farm objectors.

Andrew Lansley CBE, MP for South Cambridgeshire, has told objectors to the proposed Cotton Farm Wind Farm, for which an application to Huntingdonshire District Council is expected shortly, that he will join with his colleague, Jonathan Djanogly MP (Huntingdonshire) in opposing it.

6th May 2008 - Click for Press Release in PDF format.

Demonstration was a huge success!

What a fantastic weekend! Scores of people turned out to help with the ‘alternative exhibition’ and protest and we are very grateful to you all. Our hot dog stand was very popular, making about £113 and supporters generously made other donations. The blimp flew, despite some wet and windy weather and people were genuinely astonished to see it from far and wide – it made the point clearly that turbines of 127 m (417ft) would be visible from towns and villages across the county and further afield. We played Topple the Turbines for the media and footage of our antics went out on regional TV on both Saturday and Monday.

npower say that about 650 people visited the public exhibition on March 8 and 9, which is a fantastic result! Thanks to everyone for coming down. The Action Group exit poll of 471 people revealed that about 93 per cent are against the proposed wind power station. Visitors in support of the wind farm totalled 4% and those undecided 3%. Again, an excellent result – there is clearly a huge amount of local opposition to the proposals and we need to make this clear to Huntingdonshire District Council, who will hear npower’s planning application.

It is crucially important that as many people as possible write to their parish councillors, district councillors and local MP to register their opposition to the wind power station at Cotton Farm, Graveley - see Home page for more information

Don’t imagine that your views will be ignored – they will certainly be influential if enough letters are received. This is true for both South Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire residents. We will also be asking people to write to the relevant planning officer at Huntingdonshire District Council once the planning application has been submitted by npower. This is likely to be in May or June this year. Full details will be posted when available.

Our MP Supports the Cause!

Jonathan Djanogly, MP for Huntingdonshire, visited the exhibition over the weekend and has since made a public statement of his support for the Action Group. He was quoted in the Hunts Post, March 12, as saying, “I am allying myself with the objectors to these turbines, which would be taller than St Paul’s Cathedral. I don’t know why they can’t build them offshore where there’s more wind.”

Petition Against Onshore Wind Power Generation

The Prime Minister’s website has also been hosting a petition against onshore wind power. To find out more, or to vote, go to http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/windpower/ Voting is open until early May.

We Support Renewable Energy Generation

We are in support of wind power and other renewable energy technologies! The UK needs wind power as part of the generating mix – but turbines must be located in the areas of greatest wind speed that are away from settlements. To find out more about renewable energy go to www.berr.gov.uk and click on ‘Energy’ or visit www.ref.org.uk.

And we must improve energy efficiency….

We can all do more to reduce our use of energy - if the UK reduces its energy use there may be no need for more power stations. To find out how you, or your company, can cut energy consumption and reduce your carbon footprint visit www.energysavingtrust.org.uk or www.carbontrust.co.uk.

We also want to encourage everyone to reduce, reuse and recycle! Go to www.reducereuserecycle.co.uk to find out how you can do your bit.

Village Surveys

We are in the process of conducting house-to-house surveys of local villages to find out the exact level of opposition.

Results are now in for Graveley and Toseland and it is clear that opposition to the proposed turbines is overwhelming. Interim figures for Yelling and Gt Paxton are reflected in the chart below.

  Events

  Press Articles

Homeowners living near windfarms see property values plummet - By Nigel Bunyan and Martin Beckford - Telegraph

Thousands of homeowners may see the value of their properties plummet after a court ruled that living near a wind farm decreases house prices.

In a landmark case, Jane Davis was told she will get a discount on her council tax because her £170,000 home had been rendered worthless by a turbine 1,000 yards away.

The ruling is effectively an official admission that wind farms, which are accused of spoiling countryside views and producing a deafening roar, have a negative effect on house prices.

Read full article on Telegraph website

Private Eye Article on Financial Benefits to Landowners

In the latest 'Private Eye' (Edition 1214 covering 11-24 Jul) on page 7 there is an article describing the financial benefits to the landowner where wind turbines are installed and to the power generating companies which install them.

Apparently, the landowner can receive £10,000-£17,000 per year for each 2-Megawatt turbine installed - and this at no cost to himself.

The power generating company will receive around £450,000 a year - this includes payment for the electricity generated (calculated at £230,000) from the National Grid plus a Government subsidy of £218,000 under the 'renewables obligation' scheme.

It is no wonder that the the wind companies are so keen as their income over 25 years from one wind turbine is £11m for an initial capital outlay of £2m plus annual maintenance costs.

"Firm pulls out of wind farm plan" - BBC News

An energy company has pulled out of plans to build a wind farm in Rhondda due to concerns over noise.

Read article at BBC website

"Report blows hole in wind power plan"
Roger Dobson and Richard Gray - Telegraph

Wind power would be too unreliable to meet Britain's electricity needs, according to a new report.

It says wind patterns around the country mean turbines will fail to produce enough power at times of high demand.

Written by an independent consultancy and funded by the Renewable Energy Foundation, the report says backup electricity plants will be needed to meet demand during calm conditions.

It comes after the Government last week unveiled a £100million plan to build at least 4,000 wind turbines, with a further 3,000 offshore. The programme is expected to drive household bills up by £260 a year.

Read article online

"The shocking picture that shows how a wind farm has disfigured one of Britain's loveliest landscapes"
Rebecca Camber and David Derbyshire - Daily Mail

A sobering article and photos showing the devastating effect of turbines on the landscape around Stirling Castle.

Read article online or view as PDF file

No to the wind farm...

ANTI-wind farm campaigners were this week backed by Huntingdon's MP in their protest over eight proposed turbines on the former Graveley airfield.

Villagers from Graveley, Great Paxton, the Offords, Toseland and Yelling protested at a weekend exhibition by promoters npower Renewables at the Offords village hall, flying a hot air balloon at 417 feet (127 metres) - the height of each of the planned turbines.

MP Jonathan Djanogly told The Hunts Post afterwards: "Without doubt local people are very upset about the proposals. The impact on the communities would be enormous. On that basis alone I have a lot of sympathy with those who have lived in these communities and bought homes there.

"So I am allying myself with the objectors to these turbines, which would be taller than St Paul's Cathedral. I don't know why they can't build them offshore, where there's more wind.

Read full article online

"Setback for wind farm push"
Fiona Harvey and Rebecca Bream, Financial Times

Assuming industry averages apply, RWE Npower, which owns the most onshore wind farms, could expect to turn over more than £90m a year from them at these rates ...

... Kevin McCullough, director of renewables, said: "If you did not have the RO, you would not see any wind farms being built."

The RO requires electricity suppliers to derive a proportion of power, known as renewable obligations certificates (ROCs), from renewable energy generators.

The cost of these is passed on to the consumer.

The RO means consumers in effect pay the same to assist the renewable industry whether a lot or a little renewable electricity is produced.

If too little is produced, the subsidies are shared out among a smaller band of producers, giving them higher returns but not securing the building of new wind farms.
read article in full »

"Wind farms turn huge profit with help of subsidies"
Jonathan Leake, Environment Editor, The Sunday Times

LAVISH subsidies and high electricity prices have turned Britain’s onshore wind farms into an extraordinary moneyspinner, with a single turbine capable of generating £500,000 of pure profit per year.

According to new industry figures, a typical 2 megawatt (2MW) turbine can now generate power worth £200,000 on the wholesale markets - plus another £300,000 of subsidy from taxpayers.

Since such turbines cost around £2m to build and last for 20 or more years, it means they can pay for themselves in just 4-5 years and then produce nothing but profit.

The lucrative outlook has led to a surge in planning applications for new windfarms.
read article in full »

"Wind farms are failing to generate the predicted amount of electricity" - Charles Clover, Environment Editor, Telegraph

"Despite millions being spent on wind turbines, the study by the Renewable Energy Foundation shows that England and Wales are not windy enough to allow large turbines to work at the rates claimed for them. The foundation, a charity that aims to evaluate wind and other forms of renewable energy on an equal basis, based its study of more than 500 turbines now in operation on data supplied by companies to Ofgem, the energy regulator."
read article in full »