It's beginning to dawn on people that the proposed turbines on Mynydd Hiraethog above Rhuthun/Ruthin will be HUGE, some say three times the size of those already installed. The loss of amenity will be equally HUGE. It's not just the view from the Clwyd Gate or more locally, it's also from Snowdonia. And not just during the day, for they're expected to be illuminated at night, for aircraft. The developers concede that the power station's impact will be HUGE—for those living and visiting the area, for those who value the quiet serenity of Hiraethog. And for what? Will they add more than a handful of kilowatts to the doubling of energy output we need to match expected demand by 2050? No way. They'll be redundant by 2040 and, probably, 2021.Because, to add insult to what will amount to considerable industrial injury and deforestation, the media yesterday reported that commercial nuclear fusion may well be a reality within the next 10 years. This brings with it the possibility of all the advantages of the current fission process with none of the considerable disadvantages of contamination and safety concerns. (Remember, Wylfa is on our doorstep & downwind.) So, who needs wind turbines anyway?
There was a wind farm protest meeting either earlier this month or late last, in Clawddnewydd. This I know because of three things. First, it was advertised in the Free Press. Secondly, and quite bizarrely, the organisers had peppered leaflets on the magazine shelves at Tesco, on the side with the women's and beauty mags no less. Thirdly, I'm indebted to a reader who has emailed the fruits of the meeting's labours that were destined initially for those who attended. The meeting, apparently, was packed. The chances, however, of several hundred lay people standing firm against commercially-driven "experts" who've developed a business case over 2½ years stand as much chance as I have of singlehandedly persuading mad bikers to ride through the area peacefully (a subject I haven’t mentioned this year).
The Clocaenog wind farm will occupy 500 acres of felled forest and will be one of the largest sites of its kind in Wales. Whereas decisions to build existing turbines were determined locally or in Caerdydd, because of its sheer size, this time the decisions will come from England.
Added to a loss of amenity, there's concern over industrialisation of an upland landscape that, thus far, has escaped the march of development (though mass coniferous afforestation might equally be described as such but at least this is natural development).
But with the possibility that 2,000 gallons of water would be enough to provide the entire annual energy needs for a city in England called London, nuclear fusion for Wales would require just 850 gallons. It's not as if we don't have enough to spare.
Image: one of the (smaller than currently planned) turbines above Craig Lelo, from the Corwen to Rhuthun road at dusk
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