Last week, the Scottish Executive put the kibosh on a 181-turbine wind farm, after opposition from parties concerned about the wind farm’s impact on the environment, highlighting the ongoing battle among environmentalists over wind-energy development. The Guardian reports:
“The Scotsman reported that ‘environmental agencies welcomed the news’ of the massive wind power project’s demise, thanks to concerns about impacts on rare peat bog and birdlife habitat. . . . The Lewis wind farm’s impact on the landscape would have been substantial – with 181 turbines each standing 140 metres tall, erected on massive concrete bases drilled into the fragile peat surface and connected by dozens of miles of new stone roads, this was unavoidable. . . . The Lewis project, although supported by the Western Isles Council, received 11,000 objections from members of the public, with only 100 comments in favour. Lewis Wind Power responded to the news of its project’s refusal by saying that it was ‘bitterly disappointed’. Similarly, the British Wind Energy Association — environmentalists all — is furious that £5m has been wasted on a failed scheme, and warns that this will damage investor confidence in new wind projects.”
Wind energy has got its work cut out for it among the greenies.