Eco-tricity announced:
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birs and Ecotricity, Britain’s first green energy company, have submitted a planning application for a single wind turbine at the wildlife charity’s headquarters, The Lodge, near Sandy in Bedfordshire.
If the application is approved, the wind turbine could be installed from autumn 2014 onwards and would measure 100m at its highest point.
The turbine is predicted to produce the equivalent of up to two thirds of the RSPB’s total UK electricity needs.
The RSPB believes that renewable energy is an essential tool in the fight against climate change, which poses the single biggest threat to the long term survival of birds and wildlife.
Richard, I would indeed prefer a nuclear station. Much higher energy density and reliability. As for bird strikes, the number of actual strikes is most likely woefully underestimated. The remoteness of the sites along with predation make gathering the data difficult at best. There are more than enough videos on youtube that demonstrate the results of bird/windmill proximity. And it is not just the number of strikes, it is the types of birds most striken – raptors such as eagles and hawks, a lot of which are already on the endangered lists. As for bats, Nature England doesn’t understand the mechanism if they are estimating strikes. There is a significant pressure drop behind a turbine blade. As a bat passes near, the change in pressure causes catastrophic failure in the bat’s ears causing death. I suggest you do your homework before complaining about opinions and facts.
No doubt you would prefer a nuclear power station to be supported instead?
However the fact is that research has been done and continues and the actual number of bird strikes is very few indeed – much less than those hitting powerlines that transport electricity around the country – local generation would stop this. As for bats Natural England have looked at the issue and their directive shows that the possibility of strikes is low – the consequences of climate change and habitat destruction continuing is a much more significant danger to our wildlife. Please let’s not confuse people’s opinions with facts
Reblogged this on Mothers Against Wind Turbines and commented:
Bird brains….
If they are truly concerned about the birds, they will install 24 hr. surveillance cameras, with a zoom lens and infra-red, aimed at the blade path, so that ever slaughtered bird and bat, will be documented. This is the only way to get a TRUE number of the birds killed. The wind turbine will do nothing to improve the CO2 levels, which have not shown to be causing global warming anyway. At least they will be able to prove how much damage the turbines really do.
The fact is ! There is no safe distance for wind Turbines, NOT GREEN, NOT CHEAP, NOT RELIABLE, and come with a very BAD side EFFECT on people and the ENVIRONMENT. there is Nothing GREEN about TURBINES. SAY NO TO WIND TURBINES.