Environment Agency to build up to 80 wind farms

The controversy surrounding wind farms will be reignited this week when the government agency charged with protecting the environment reveals plans to build up to 80 wind turbines along some of the nation's most picturesque rivers.

By Richard Gray and Patrick Sawer Last Updated: 10:03AM GMT 23 Nov 2008

Among the stretches of water which the Environment Agency is considering for wind farm development are part of the River Thames; the River Medway in the North Downs; and parts of the Fens which rank among the best bird watching locations in Britain.
Campaigners have also warned that one of Britain's most beautiful landscapes will be "destroyed" by a series of wind farm developments being proposed by companies close to Exmoor National Park.
Both sets of plans will stimulate new debate over the spread of wind farms, which critics say is threatening to spoil thousands of acres of countryside while having minimal impact on the fight against climate change.
According to one researcher, Professor David MacKay, a physicist at Cambridge University, an area the size of Wales would need to be turned over to wind farms to generate just a sixth of Britain's energy demands.
Wind farm detractors also insist that wind energy is too unreliable to replace the creaking network of fossil fuel power stations and would require an extensive network of back up power stations to provide energy on calm days.
Wind farms have also faced intense opposition from rural campaigners who say the huge turbines, which can be up to 400 feet tall, are spoiling the countryside and pose a risk to wildlife.
The Environment Agency, which took ownership of many of the nation's rivers from the National Rivers Authority, will tomorrow announce plans to generate its own renewable energy by building wind turbines on its land.
It is aiming to build 80 turbines to generate 200 megawatts of energy, enough to power 90,000 households or a city the size of York.
Although some of the turbines will be built on land surrounding the agency's offices and pumping stations in different parts of the country, officials have admitted that turbines will also be erected on land it owns alongside rivers and surrounding flood defences.
The plans have alarmed rural campaigners who say that wind turbines would ruin the picturesque river landscape. They insist that rivers also provide a key habitat for birds that could be threatened by the construction of wind turbines.
Paul Miner, senior planning campaigner at the Campaign to Protect Rural England, said: "While we welcome in principal the Environment Agency developing renewable energy on its land, we hope that it will take landscape factors into account.
"Wind turbines can have a serious impact on the appearance of a landscape and certainly should not be located in areas of natural beauty or national parks."
In total the Environment Agency owns more than 15,400 hectares of land around the country. A spokesman insisted the turbines would only be constructed following planning approval and consultation with the public.
The turbines will be used to provide energy for Environment Agency buildings where possible, and the rest of the energy produced will be supplied to the National Grid, generating up to £2.4 million of revenue a year for the Agency.
Dr Paul Leinster, chief executive of the Environment Agency, said: "By developing these renewable energy projects we are helping to limit and adapt to the effects of climate change, reduce our dependency on fossil fuels and help develop a low-carbon economy. We are identifying the main contributors to our own carbon footprint – such as major pumping stations – and looking at how we can generate renewable energy to power them."
The Environment Agency is due to announce the proposals, which were made following a study of the Agency's land deemed suitable for wind energy production by consultants Partnerships for Renewables, at its Environmental Futures 08 conference tomorrow.
Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary, welcomed the announcement. He said: "We want even more homes, communities, businesses and public sector organisations to join in this national effort to play their part in defeating climate change."
Meanwhile, power companies have applied to build 24 turbines – each 100 metres high – close to the southern boundary of Exmoor National Park, sparking an angry campaign by local residents.
Kate Ashbrook, of the Open Spaces Society, said: "This tranquil, unspoilt area of north Devon cannot accommodate such an intrusion. Its intimate character will be destroyed. This development is bound to have an adverse effect on the tourist industry, on which the area depends."
Four power companies have appealed for permission to build one wind farm each. Devon Light & Power has applied to build two turbines at Cross Moor, while npower has applied to erect nine near Batsworthy Cross. Both sites are near Knowstone, South Molton, in North Devon.
Now two more applications have been lodged, one by Airtricity Developments for nine turbines at Three Moors, near Knowstone, and one by Coronation Power for four turbines at Bickham Moor, near Oakford, mid-Devon.
Bob Barfoot, chairman of the Devon branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, said: "They would have a massive effect on the surrounding landscape and the wider setting of the National Park. The impact on residents and the tourist economy would offset any benefits from renewable energy."
But supporters of the wind farms say they will make a valuable contribution towards reducing carbon dioxide emissions. A spokesman for Coronation Power said: "The four-turbine Bickham Moor wind farm would provide enough green electricity to supply up to 25 per cent of the area's annual electricity needs."
An Airtricity spokesman said: "The consequences of ignoring climate change could cause significant and lasting damage."
Two of the proposals are set to be heard at a public inquiry, while district council decisions on the other two are expected by the end of the year.