A 70 metre mast could still get go-ahead
Matt Meade • Published 23 Dec 2011 08:45
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PLANS to erect a 70-metre mast in Blairadam Forest could go ahead, despite the Cowdenbeath area committee agreeing to refuse it after receiving 17 objections.
The applicant, Partnerships for Renewables, has appealed to the Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals (DPEA) because the decision by the committee was not submitted in the statutory two-month period.
It means the DPEA will carry out a site visit before deciding if the anemometer mast, used to measure windspeed, can be installed.
The application was originally considered at the Cowdenbeath area committee on 2nd November because more than five objections had been received.
Objections included concerns regarding impact on visual amenity because of the red flashing light on the mast and that it had no proven need, other than as a precursor to wind turbines.
Members decided to refuse the application, despite a recommendation by council planning officers to approve it. That meant a further report had to go back to the committee with reasons for refusal so members could agree them before the decision was made formal.
The report was to be put before members at a meeting on 30th November but this was postponed until 7th December because of industrial action.
A Fife Council spokesperson said, "The applicant was advised shortly after the meeting on 2nd November that members had refused the application.
"The applicant was also advised that no decision notice could be issued until the conclusion of the following committee meeting when reason(s) would be formally ratified.
"As the period of time to determine the application had gone beyond the statutory two-month period they therefore invoked their right to lodge an appeal to the DPEA on the grounds of non-determination.
"(So) although members agreed verbally to refuse the application no formal decision has been technically made until the notice has been issued."
Meanwhile, another planning application has gone to the DPEA because of a committee's failure to give a decision in the statutory timescale.
The applicant wants to install an 18-metre-high wind turbine at Bullions Farm, west of Crombie.
Chris Smith, lead officer, said, "Unfortunately, the process was delayed so the applicant invoked their right to appeal to the local review body on the basis of non-determination."
This article appeared in Dunfermline Press 21 Dec 11
Have your say. Post a comment on this article.
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DunfermlineEast
137 posts
Dec 29, 12:41
Report commentWind turbines are not fit for purpose. You cannot turn up the wind when energy demand is high nor turn the wind off when demand is low. You cannot store electricity, when it is generated it is generated or lost. What sort of collective stupidity has taken over this country, where greedy landowners cash in on erecting massive turbines which are inefficient and only present due to tax payer subsidy. Fife needs to stop this madness.
Recommend?
Yes 12
No 2
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SmarmyGit
316 posts
Dec 29, 18:20
Report commentAnd do what instead?
Dam up Loch Leven and flood 20 square miles of agricultural land to generate Hydro or stick a Nuclear power station on the Forth just past Burntisland, or, hud on i know, put all our eggs into the one fossil fuel basket and watch the Russians and Chinese quadruple the price of gas and coal in the next few years, seeing as the Tories were so short sighted and totally knackered Fife's ability to mine for coal...........
Come, come laddie, lets get back into the real world where grown ups play eh?
Recommend? Yes 10
No 9
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DunfermlineEast
137 posts
Dec 29, 21:49
Report commentYou have no idea what you are talking about.
Recommend? Yes 5
No 8
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logster
28 posts
Dec 30, 15:57
Report commentWho's pocket are the council planners in.What are their interest in this to go a head the maths just doesn't add up here.
Recommend? Yes 3
No 0
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davidbn
4 posts
Jan 3, 11:55
Report commentactually you can store the energy it creates, in capacitor dams and they have been for years in Denmark, it also gets fed into the grid so payments are made from national grid to the owner. so your comment that it is inefficient is way of the mark.
Recommend? Yes 0
No 3
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DunfermlineEast
137 posts
Jan 3, 20:54
Report comment@Davidbn, in Germany, they use excess energy from wind turbines to pump water into a huge elevated storage lake (speichersee) in the region, and when the energy is needed, hydroelectric power is used to generate electricity from the lake. Electric Mountain in Snowdon, Wales, uses such a strategy to ensure the grid doesn't get overloaded when everyone turns on the kettle at half-time, et cetera. BUT pumped storage is too inefficient. Every time you convert energy to another form, you lose a large percentage. Storing electricity from wind power is just inefficient and is a stealth tax on UK households.
Here's a chart showing what others are paying in Europe.
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa....
Here's another site, were you can monitor how much power the wind turbines are putting out ..see what they are rated at ...and see which ones are turned off, on an interactive map
You can drag the map..so that it shows other country's ....it shows live info.
http://www.rwe.com/web/cms/en/
Wind power is just now worth our money to invest in. Shale gas and tidal power perhaps...
Recommend? Yes 10
No 0
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