Wind turbines - responsibility

perfect11s said:
Hiroshima was supposed to kill people it was a bomb , lets have the figures on the others I think you will find its a tiny number .... looks like YOU subscribe to proparganda!!!!!!!
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Chernobyl was a massive disaster for everyone, not just the people who were close by, if i remember correctly the fall out caused huge problems for some sheep farmers in Wales....& thats asides from the long term health issues of the people who still live in the vicinity of Chernobyl, all the birth defects etc. I dont see wind turbines causing any of these problems? Id far rather see wind turbines than power stations.

Just copied from Wikipedia...so dont know how accurate it is:
Twenty five years after the catastrophe, restriction orders remain in place in the production, transportation and consumption of food contaminated by Chernobyl fallout. In the UK, they remain in place on 369 farms covering 750 km² and 200,000 sheep. In parts of Sweden and Finland, restrictions are in place on stock animals, including reindeer, in natural and near-natural environments. "In certain regions of Germany, Austria, Italy, Sweden, Finland, Lithuania and Poland, wild game (including boar and deer), wild mushrooms, berries and carnivorous fish from lakes reach levels of several thousand Bq per kg of caesium-137", while "in Germany, caesium-137 levels in wild boar muscle reached 40,000 Bq/kg. The average level is 6,800 Bq/kg, more than ten times the EU limit of 600 Bq/kg", according to the TORCH 2006 report. The European Commission has stated that "The restrictions on certain foodstuffs from certain Member States must therefore continue to be maintained for many years to come".[6]
 
Spudlet said:
Ridden past loads of them with no issues, the horses get used to them IME.

Am I the only one that quite likes them... I wouldn't want to see one on every hill, but I think they can look quite majestic, personally, rearing up against the skyline.


ETA - at the risk of sounding chippy myself, there is a danger that horseriders are seen as expecting the whole world to stop for the sake of their hobby, and this means that when we do actually have a real reason to ask for concessions (like people driving considerately) these are less likely to be taken seriously IMO. We can't expect the world to revolve around our horses, but that is what a few riders seem to expect and it gets right on my wick!
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You are 100% right ^^^
 
OWLIE185 said:
Some horses are badly effected by wind turbines.

I have had a lot of experience of wind turbines and the effect they have on horses.

Some of the effects are:
Sunlight being reflected in the stationary or rotating blades temporarily blinds passing horses.
The dark moving shadows caused by the rotating blades scares passing horses.
The noise of the turbines can effect horses at quite a distance away (2 miles)
Ice being thrown off the rotating blades and hitting passing horses and riders.
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Do you have any actual incidences where a turbine has been the direct cause of a rider or horse being injured in the UK ?
Ice being thrown off rotating blades and injuring a horse and rider ? Think its more likely to be hit by falling ice if you ride under trees or buildings with overhangs.
Whatever you do, don't ride through the woods on a sunny day. The light shining through the trees may spook your horse.

You make several statements as though they are facts. This is scaremongering for ulterior motives.
I'd be more likely to support a local proposed windfarm as a rider, because I like them.
 
MyBoyChe - PM Monkers on here, she is a wealth of information on the planned turbines along the Three Shires bridleway.
 
In defence of Perfect11s wind turbines are a bit of a con.

Whilst they can be pretty good as supplimental power they are hellishly unreliable as an energy source for the national grid. They are also VERY expensive. The trouble with wind turbines is that the wind isn't constant. While this is fine if you have a small turbine on your land which powers your home and feeds back into the grid if there is a surplus and you draw power from the grid if there is a shortfall it is no good if the entire country is relying upon wind power for a percentage of its electrical needs.

Rather than seeing massive wind turbines I'd rather see more hydro electric plants in this country. Egypt generates enough energy from the Aswan High Dam to enable it to sell the surplus to its neighbours. We are ideally placed to make the most of water power in this country, tidal power could be a reliable contributor to the UK's energy if the will was there. Many of our rivers could also generate power, it has worked for over a hundred years where I live so I am at a loss to understand why the government don't offer similar incentives to develop water power as they do for wind power.

There is clearly another agenda.
 
KristmasKatt said:
Whilst they can be pretty good as supplimental power they are hellishly unreliable as an energy source for the national grid. They are also VERY expensive. The trouble with wind turbines is that the wind isn't constant. While this is fine if you have a small turbine on your land which powers your home and feeds back into the grid if there is a surplus and you draw power from the grid if there is a shortfall it is no good if the entire country is relying upon wind power for a percentage of its electrical needs.
You are almost right, when you take into consideration decommissioning wind turbines are almost the cheapest power supply on the market, you are completely correct that they can not power the grid alone, however you will start to hear the phrase "energy mix" being talked about in the media. The world will start to step away from fossil fuels as the sole supply of electricity, and it will be provided using a mixture of nuclear and renewable energies. They are infact very reliable as a power source, and the UK gets 40% of europe's wind so on-shore and off-shore wind will lead the way for our renewable contribution.

With Hydro power you need a certain head height which only Scotland has an abundence of, so although a consideration, it is unlikely to become a market leader. Wind and solar will predominate!!
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navaho said:
Chernobyl was a massive disaster for everyone, not just the people who were close by, if i remember correctly the fall out caused huge problems for some sheep farmers in Wales....& thats asides from the long term health issues of the people who still live in the vicinity of Chernobyl, all the birth defects etc. I dont see wind turbines causing any of these problems? Id far rather see wind turbines than power stations.

Just copied from Wikipedia...so dont know how accurate it is:
Twenty five years after the catastrophe, restriction orders remain in place in the production, transportation and consumption of food contaminated by Chernobyl fallout. In the UK, they remain in place on 369 farms covering 750 km² and 200,000 sheep. In parts of Sweden and Finland, restrictions are in place on stock animals, including reindeer, in natural and near-natural environments. "In certain regions of Germany, Austria, Italy, Sweden, Finland, Lithuania and Poland, wild game (including boar and deer), wild mushrooms, berries and carnivorous fish from lakes reach levels of several thousand Bq per kg of caesium-137", while "in Germany, caesium-137 levels in wild boar muscle reached 40,000 Bq/kg. The average level is 6,800 Bq/kg, more than ten times the EU limit of 600 Bq/kg", according to the TORCH 2006 report. The European Commission has stated that "The restrictions on certain foodstuffs from certain Member States must therefore continue to be maintained for many years to come".[6]
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Hmmm so hardly a massive disaster then !!! if you dont think wind mills are dangerous look up the mining of rare metals, mainly in china as they have large reserves and the massive scale of polutution it is causing when geting neodinum for magnets used in them ... they are a eco con and are damaging the economy ,the countryside , and jobs .....
 
On the more general subject of power generation, it seems pretty obvious to me that we're going to need a mixture of solutions to generate power in the future, depending on the area and the conditions. Wind energy will be part of this.

I think the point on nuclear is that if it goes wrong, it tends to go REALLY wrong. And while the fallout from Chernobyl may seem small on paper, I would imagine that the people who lived there might have a slightly different take on the subject (http://www.chernobyl-children.org.uk/ given the severity of some of the effects on people, I do find the comment that it's hardly a massive disaster crashingly insensitive!). Nuclear is not some kind of easy option that solves all our energy problems in one, there are no simple answers. What we need is surely a bit of everything.

How do turbines affect jobs, anyway? Puzzled by that one?:confused:
 
Spudlet said:
On the more general subject of power generation, it seems pretty obvious to me that we're going to need a mixture of solutions to generate power in the future, depending on the area and the conditions. Wind energy will be part of this.

I think the point on nuclear is that if it goes wrong, it tends to go REALLY wrong. And while the fallout from Chernobyl may seem small on paper, I would imagine that the people who lived there might have a slightly different take on the subject (http://www.chernobyl-children.org.uk/ given the severity of some of the effects on people, I do find the comment that it's hardly a massive disaster crashingly insensitive!). Nuclear is not some kind of easy option that solves all our energy problems in one, there are no simple answers. What we need is surely a bit of everything.

How do turbines affect jobs, anyway? Puzzled by that one?:confused:
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most of the people involved with the manufacture and installing of them are foriegn
and they are pushing up the cost of electricity for industry so its cheaper to make stuff overseas hence fewer jobs basicly we are screwing ourselves for what ???
 
Trouble4125 said:
KristmasKatt said:
Whilst they can be pretty good as supplimental power they are hellishly unreliable as an energy source for the national grid. They are also VERY expensive. The trouble with wind turbines is that the wind isn't constant. While this is fine if you have a small turbine on your land which powers your home and feeds back into the grid if there is a surplus and you draw power from the grid if there is a shortfall it is no good if the entire country is relying upon wind power for a percentage of its electrical needs.
You are almost right, when you take into consideration decommissioning wind turbines are almost the cheapest power supply on the market, you are completely correct that they can not power the grid alone, however you will start to hear the phrase "energy mix" being talked about in the media. The world will start to step away from fossil fuels as the sole supply of electricity, and it will be provided using a mixture of nuclear and renewable energies. They are infact very reliable as a power source, and the UK gets 40% of europe's wind so on-shore and off-shore wind will lead the way for our renewable contribution.

With Hydro power you need a certain head height which only Scotland has an abundence of, so although a consideration, it is unlikely to become a market leader. Wind and solar will predominate!!
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Do You realy believe all that greenwash get real !!!!!!
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perfect11s said:
most of the people involved with the manufacture and installing of them are foriegn
and they are pushing up the cost of electricity for industry so its cheaper to make stuff overseas hence fewer jobs basicly we are screwing ourselves for what ???
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Ooooh, I see, foreigners, coming over here, taking our jobs, cooking funny food, yawn yawn yaaaaawn...
 
Back to OP.

We have several wind-turbines near us, both medium-sized and small (although we can see a forest of large ones, we don't pass them). Not one of the local horses is or has been, bothered by them. I thought the recently erected turbine, which appeared on our only route home, might worry sister's spook-monster but she has taken no notice of it whatsoever. Pity she doesn't treat the white stones at the side of the road with the same disdain!
 
But Perfect11s - I don't live in China?! And I haven't googled the topic - but making wind turbines is likely the least of china's environmental worries!

My job is identifying and mitigating any environmental impact of the wind farms, so really - I'm a good guy ;)

Spudlet - I'm having stir fry tonight - actual chinesey foreign food, so you are on the money!
 
perfect11s said:
Hmmm so hardly a massive disaster then !!! if you dont think wind mills are dangerous look up the mining of rare metals, mainly in china as they have large reserves and the massive scale of polutution it is causing when geting neodinum for magnets used in them ... they are a eco con and are damaging the economy ,the countryside , and jobs .....
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Are you joking !!!!
Chernobyl was a masssaive disaster, with hundreds of miles of exclusion zones which are still contaminated.
The incidences of cancer and deformities in children born in the area was huge.
The impact of chernobyl is still being felt in These communities to this day.
Japans nuclear disaster is still giving horrendous problems for the people.
Tokyo a massivley populated city has radiation levels just below the need to evacuate level last week.
Nuclear, while efficient, when it goes wrong has the potential to be catastrophic
 
Perfect 11s, my husband supervises sites and erects wind turbines for a living.
He's as Scottish as me, as are the guys who work with him.
He has been approached to do this in other countries, not the other way around.
 
Haven't read all replies but I think wind turbines are a good thing.

Horses have got used to worse things than wind turbines and it's a case of conditioning them to accept them as part of the landscape.

Where I live, we have to contend with hot air balloons, Chinooks, paragliders, hangliders, kites, cyclists, runners, dogs, cows, tractors, pheasant shoots and also live under the flight path of Bristol International. We seem to co-exist perfectly well with the rest of humanity... I think a massive propeller in the sky is nothing.
 
Horses are pretty adaptable and will get used to anything if exposed properly, I would be more pi55ed off at them closing the route for 12 months.
 
perfect11s said:
Hmmm so hardly a massive disaster then !!! if you dont think wind mills are dangerous look up the mining of rare metals, mainly in china as they have large reserves and the massive scale of polutution it is causing when geting neodinum for magnets used in them ... they are a eco con and are damaging the economy ,the countryside , and jobs .....
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Get your facts right. That is misinformation.

Rare earth magnets are only used in 3-5% of turbines being produced, its a new technology for the turbine industry but they're loathe to use this technology because of the cost and the physical size needed and because it is contrary to the philosophy of eco friendly renewable energy.
There are alternatives which are being developed, currently they use induction generators which don't contain any magnets.

The majority of rare earth material is used in computer hard disk drives ie; pc, laptops, Ipads, fans, motors for electric windows for cars.

Would you like to give up your pc or Ipad ?
 
They will get used to it. There are loads in wales where I used to live/livery/ride. I think the turbines are essential for our future and think all the argument against them is pathetic- they ruin the view- well if climate change occurs the view will change drastically anyway!
Anyway- try walking past it the first time in hand or on long reins and i'm sure you will be fine- just take it steady
 
perfect11s said:
most of the people involved with the manufacture and installing of them are foriegn
and they are pushing up the cost of electricity for industry so its cheaper to make stuff overseas hence fewer jobs basicly we are screwing ourselves for what ???
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Erm.... ok, more misinformation.
What about the 3 manufacturing plants being built in the uk next year and the reopening of the Isle of Wight blade factory (remember that closure ?).

This will generate tens of thousands of real manufacturing and engineering jobs in the UK.
 
tallyho! said:
Haven't read all replies but I think wind turbines are a good thing.

Horses have got used to worse things than wind turbines and it's a case of conditioning them to accept them as part of the landscape.

Where I live, we have to contend with hot air balloons, Chinooks, paragliders, hangliders, kites, cyclists, runners, dogs, cows, tractors, pheasant shoots and also live under the flight path of Bristol International. We seem to co-exist perfectly well with the rest of humanity... I think a massive propeller in the sky is nothing.
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Hits the like button:D
 
No Fan of this green energy etc as I dont think its as green as its made out(all target driven etc etc our industry got moved abroad due to electricity costs/labour costs and our pollution from our industrial areas went with it ie to China and India(coal powered & I have been and its appallingly filthy compared to 25 years ago) Anyhow regarding turbines I think the horses will have to get use to it, there is little any objections do to stop turbines/digesters etc etc its apparently green so it must be good(um). Unfortunately try to go out with bombproof and just get use to it. I would still write to raise your concerns just so its on file etc. The only winners are the providers and the landowner. We just pay for it all.
 
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