MoneySaving Poll: Are wind farms an aye-aye or an eyesore?

2456

Comments

  • SailorSam
    SailorSam Posts: 22,754 Forumite
    Combo Breaker First Post
    I think they look Ok, perhaps if i lived in the countryside and they wanted to put one outside my frontdoor i'd change my mind.
    I was watching a programme on Tv last week, Tony Robinson travelling around showing what a nice place we live in. I think it was the Peak District he was in and at an old railway viaduct which was unused since the trains stopped running in the Beechams cuts. There had been plans put forward to demolish it and return the countryside back to the way it was, but there was a big campaign to keep it, locals and visitors liked it so much. They pointed out that when the vioduct was first built there was just as big campaign 'cos nobody wanted this eyesore.
    So it just goes to prove times change, building an eyesore can become a thing of beauty. Perhaps in a hundred years we may see groups of people wanting to keep our 'windmills' if they wanted to demolish them.
    Liverpool is one of the wonders of Britain,
    What it may grow to in time, I know not what.

    Daniel Defoe: 1725.
  • royl
    royl Posts: 3 Newbie
    How much does it cost to make and install one of these turbines and how long does it take to get that money back?:(
  • cepheus
    cepheus Posts: 20,053 Forumite
    royl wrote: »
    How much does it cost to make and install one of these turbines and how long does it take to get that money back?:(

    How long is a piece of string. Here are some figures for an isolated mid sized one in a moderately windy place. However, these are not efficient by wind farm standards.

    http://www.gfwrenewables.com/phpmedia/docs/11b6e2fb55628d41b0ce364b550421a1.pdf
  • ifan.goch
    ifan.goch Posts: 66 Forumite
    I live in Snowdonia National Park and have a direct eyeline to turbines on the other side of the valley outside the National Park. I think they look terrible and detract from the natural beauty that so many tourists come to see.

    I'm not saying that I'm in favour of fossil fuels, but I'm also not saying that if you're connected to the grid you should put up and shut up. I would suggest that the majority of people who are in favour of on shore turbines don't actually live within sight of them.

    I believe there are far more reliable ways of generating renewable energy. We're an island for goodness sake with reliable and predictable tidal forces. Why not make more use of that? I lived in S Wales for 40 years before moving here and for as long as I can remember there has been talk of a Severn Barrage. Why has it never happened? Sure it would cost money, but think of the benefits of permanent renewable energy not to mention a third vehicle crossing for the Severn.
  • SailorSam
    SailorSam Posts: 22,754 Forumite
    Combo Breaker First Post
    royl wrote: »
    How much does it cost to make and install one of these turbines and how long does it take to get that money back?:(

    It's not all about the cost or the payback.
    It may be cheaper to generate power with fossil fuels but then how much does it cost to clean up afterwards. Not just the cost of cleaning the soot from a coal fired generator but the cost to the environment from fracking and greenhouse gases from burning oil, then add to that the costs to the health service that these dirty fuels bring.
    Liverpool is one of the wonders of Britain,
    What it may grow to in time, I know not what.

    Daniel Defoe: 1725.
  • Senseicads
    Senseicads Posts: 204 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
    I think that nuclear power is a lot safer and more efficient to produce the massive amounts of electricity that this country needs that we should be looking at this rather than to wind power for our energy needs. The old days of nuclear power having risks are gone, ther eis only the old stigma's to get past. It's ridiculous in this day and age that the safety of nuclear fuel is called into question.
  • SailorSam
    SailorSam Posts: 22,754 Forumite
    Combo Breaker First Post
    Nuclear probably is safer than it was but we still have the problem of waste, and when the time comes that the nuclear genrerator comes to the end of it's life the costs are enormous to take it away.
    Liverpool is one of the wonders of Britain,
    What it may grow to in time, I know not what.

    Daniel Defoe: 1725.
  • dastep
    dastep Posts: 39 Forumite
    I would love one in my neighbourhood if it supplied me with free energy.
  • Packaham
    Packaham Posts: 1 Newbie
    I would rather see turbines than fracking any day.
  • iAMaLONDONER
    iAMaLONDONER Posts: 1,669 Forumite
    cepheus wrote: »
    Perhaps the locals should be offered a share of the profits or even community controlled as they often do in Germany.

    For those who say no they should have to accept the possibility of a fracking site or a nuclear power station on their doorstep, or a contract with Mr Putin!

    We could reopen the mines like Germany has!
This discussion has been closed.
★ ★ ★ Meet your Ambassadors

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 343K Banking & Borrowing
  • 250K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 449.6K Spending & Discounts
  • 235.1K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 607.8K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 173K Life & Family
  • 247.8K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 15.9K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards