16/03/13 Arguments against RES appeal

Basis for a Rejecting an Appeal

1)The Tan 8 process was not widely consulted - only one meeting in Carmarthen.

2)There was totally inadequate research carried out about by the Welsh Assembly Government on the impact of wind farm policy -  the only research done was concerned about the amount of wind.

3)Because of the distance from the National Grid at Swansea, there would be considerable transmission loss of energy available of up to 10% from an already inefficient and unreliable provider.

 

4)Wind farms cannot be considered independently of power station back up. Since most coal fired power stations will close in the next couple of years it is against the national interest to rely on such an intermittent source of energy.

5)Wind farms require huge subsidies which would be better spent  on reliable sources such tidal barriers. The more wind farms built, the higher fuel bills will rise to fund the subsidy causing an increase in fuel poverty.

6)There is an ever increasing amount of peer reviewed research on turbine noise from all over the world showing an impact on human health.

7)There is a currently a public inquiry looking at the ETSU process which determines sound levels and much of the evidence given to the inquiry talks about ETSU shortcomings. The original committee was made up of interested professionals who dismissed the impact of low frequency sound and did not consult other professionals e.g. health experts.

8)There was bias in calculating  background  sound levels for this application. The results of monitoring at chosen sites did not present representative samples which could be used to provide an adequate  forecast of the ambient noise and therefore the sound impact on all the other local properties.

9)Acoustics 'experts' had a vested interest in more wind farms being provided as the policy supplies a good income for all their talk of best practice (defined by themselves).

10)The Prime Minister has talked about the importance of considering local opinion. If this opinion is to be dismissed out of hand then the whole process is a farce.

 In conclusion, the number of extra wind farms being proposed for this one area would place an unacceptable burden on local residents and have a dramatic negative effect on their human rights.