Minimal

Not in my back yard

I’m sick to death of reading about people putting the kibosh on new wind farm proposals on the tired old “eyesore” grounds. Especially so when the turbines in question are sited offshore. For god’s sake, would you prefer it if we stuck a dirty great coal-fired power station in your back yard? Or perhaps you’d rather suffer increasingly frequent brown-outs? No, I didn’t think so.

The facts of the matter are that wind turbines are not only an incredibly clean form of energy, they’re also one of the most attractive forms. These structures are actually quite elegant and rarely spoil a good view. What more could you want from 21st century energy production? Personally, I’m quite proud to live in an area that has a few and I wouldn’t object to a couple more in the field out the back of my house.

I remember when I lived in Seaton Sluice and people protested at the plans for a 9-turbine wind farm on Blyth pier, 3 miles up the coast. Somehow, these idiots had failed to notice the rest of the skyline into which they’d be blending: a huge coal-fired power station; massive storage buildings at Blyth port; the eight towers of the Alcan aluminium smelting factory; and Alcan’s own coal-fired power station. Thankfully, the scheme at Blyth went ahead despite the protests, but sense doesn’t always prevail. :(