Infinergy, the company behind the proposed Alaska  Wind Farm project at Masters Pitt, East Stoke, has issued a statement revealing the positive feedback they received at the public exhibition held on Monday.

Around 200 local residents attended Monday’s public exhibition in Wareham:  69% of visitors who gave their opinion about the proposal by completing an opinion form indicated their support for the new scheme. Only 26% of respondents objected to the wind farm and a further 4% gave no comment.

Infinergy will respond to the queries made at the exhibition. A Statement of Consultation will be submitted to Purbeck District Council as part of the application, which will outline the consultation process and its results.

Charles Sandham, Chief Executive commented

We are delighted at the number of people who attended the exhibition and took the opportunity to view the revised proposal, ask questions and discuss the wider issue of climate change. It is good to see that so many people are taking the climate change issue seriously and want to help do their bit towards Dorset’s 2010 renewable energy target.

Infinergy welcomes discussions with all parties involved, however, it was a great disappointment to see the Chairman of CPRE, Terry Stewart, behave unreasonably at the exhibition by stealing our exhibition literature and using aggressive tactics.

Mr Stewart also complains that the turbines will be a blot on the landscape, but the large number of yellow anti wind farm stickers that opposition groups such as DART and CPRE have stuck to almost every road sign in the area is a blot in itself. The use of road signs go against all of CPRE’s current principles which highlights their belief that road signs spoil the countryside and there’s a real risk they can distract motorists driving at high speeds.

Following the protest by Dorset Against Rural Turbines (DART) outside the public exhibition for the proposed Wind Farm in East Stoke held in Wareham yesterday, the local support group ‘Say Yes to Wind Power’ has hit back.

Janet Payne from ‘Say Yes to Wind Power’ has dismissed DART’s accusations that the turbines will ruin the views over Purbeck and will not be efficient.

Their only argument against it is it’s going to spoil the view; I think it’s complete ‘nimbyism’, it’s selfish to object to it. Climate change is the biggest thing that we’re facing at the moment and we’ve got to go with wind. It’s clean, it’s renewable, it’s free. It’s a quarry site, it’s a brownfield site and wind turbines are better than other possibilities it could be used for.

Peter Barker, also of ‘Say Yes to Wind Power’ made the following statement:

We have looked at all of DARTs arguments and found them to be groundless in relation to this project. Their only real concern appears to be that they do not want to look at them. Most people now realise that wind is an essential part of our toolkit in tackling climate change. Let DART protest, they are just showing that they do not care about the World we leave for our children.

Following our previous story that Infinergy, the company behind the proposed Wind Farm at Masters Pitt in East Stoke, has cut the number of planned wind turbines from 6 to 4, comes news that it is holding a public exhibition at the Springfield Country Hotel in Wareham on Monday, November 3 from 1.30-8.30pm. 

The exhibition will provide information about the revised proposal, photomontages and other research material, and consultants will be on-hand to answer questions and take feedback.

The revised plan has the potential of generating 9.2MW of electricity, which represents 11-13% of Dorset’s renewable energy target of 68-84MW of electricity from renewable sources by 2010.

If the government is to reach its target of wind-power generating a third of the UK’s energy needs by 2020, it is small wind-farms like this, as well as the larger scale projects, that will need to overcome local opposition and be approved and built much more quickly than they have in the past.

Infinergy, the company behind the proposed Wind Farm at Masters Pitt in East Stoke, has cut the number of planned wind turbines from 6 to 4.

The move is allegedly in response to residents’ concerns regarding the proximity of neighbouring properties but Peter Barker, spokesperson for the ‘Say Yes to Wind Power’ campaign, believes their fears have been unduly raised:

Unfortunately the people of East Stoke have had their quite natural worries over the development played upon by DART (Dorset Against Rural Turbines) who have produced disproportionate and shocking photo-montages and refer to studies by climate change denier Fred Singer (who has admitted taking money from oil giants ExxonMobil).

Although most of us can see the benefits of clean, sustainable power (a survey conducted by Mori for EDF Energy showed 72% of people in the UK supported wind farms) it would seem that not everyone is happy to embrace this opportunity to lead the way towards an environmentally secure future.

Following the launch of the ‘Say Yes To Wind Power’ campaign in support of the proposed wind farm in East Stoke, the group’s spokesperson, Peter Barker, provides details below of the feedback they received on the launch day in Wareham:

“We were overwhelmed by the positive response from the public, I would say 85-90% were supportive and in less than 2 hours we received over 180 signatures of support. We were really very busy there, it was most encouraging to find the level of support and vindicated our opinion that the quiet majority are behind the idea.

We had some great comments written too:

• “Wind farms are a feature & we need to go for renewables, it is the future”
• “So nice to see someone supporting these things”
• “I absolutely support this in Purbeck”
• “I’m a tourist & love Dorset will love it even more with turbines”
• “The proposed site is a sensible one - does not intrude on Purbeck heritage landscape”
• “My views are spoiled by 25 pylons from a gas power station. I would prefer to see wind mills”
• “Although wind power alone cannot be the only source, it must be part of a renewable energy supply - please put one in my back-yard!”

4 people we met were very opposed to the idea, 3 lived in East Stoke so we spent some time talking to them about their concerns.

It became clear that the ‘facts’ they had were at odds to the ones we had. Subsequent research indicates to us that some fear-mongering has been at work, which strikes us as being unfair to people who are obviously worried about their homes.

It would probably be helpful to cover some of the more valid points.

1. House values; in a survey of Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, 40% said a wind farm had no effect on house prices. 60% said it had a negative effect but it starts to recover after a couple of years suggesting people become used to them within the landscape.

I have heard that people living closest often become their strongest advocates, we experienced this on Saturday when a visitor from Fareham commented, “Fully support having lived with wind farm in Cornwall”

2. Are they effective? This development is rated at 13.8 MW, due to wind variations, it is expected to generate 30% of maximum capacity giving a yearly total of 36,000 MWh. This is enough to power 9,000 homes. A typical coal fired power station emits 32,000 tonnes of CO2 to make this amount of electricity.

We are windiest country in Europe but it is Denmark which leads the World with 20% of its electricity from wind and they are working to double that.

Germany is now the largest market for wind turbines having installed more than 20,000 MW.

3. Why there? The area is a heavily quarried brownfield site. It is on elevated ground which is not in an AONB, SSSI or Conservation Area. It is far enough away from houses to avoid any noise disturbance.

Dorset has a target of 68-84 MW of renewable energy by 2010.

4. Visual impact. They would be big with blade tips reaching up to 125m. We don’t believe they will be intrusive but others do.

It mostly comes down to personal preferences. We like the look of them, some people do not, we understand that and have sympathy for such people who may get them within a kilometer of their house. However we sincerely believe they will find their fears misplaced, we hope they will accept them, perhaps even take pride in their contribution to renewable energy and we are sure their children will one day thank them for it.

One final point, we are not being paid to do this. We do it because we care about our future. Global warming is wrecking havoc with our ecosystems, species extinction is accelerating and human suffering is the inevitable consequence.

We have to take responsibility for our power generation and do whatever we can to combat climate change, it’s the only right thing to do. ”

Supporters can contact us by email: wind4dorset@hotmail.co.uk“

Following our earlier story about a new campaign group in favour of the East Stoke wind farm proposal, the ‘Say Yes to Wind Power’ group was launched near the Quay in Wareham on Saturday.

The group plan to highlight the importance of this renewable, clean form of energy and are holding a further awareness day on Saturday 29th March to combine information, fun and a letter-writing appeal.

Local resident, Peter Barker said:

“We are supporting the plan to build a wind farm of 6 turbines at Masters Pit on the Puddletown road because we recognise the need to move away from burning fossil fuels and understand that wind energy is necessary as part of a safe and efficient energy solution.

In Germany it has been proven, using a combination of wind, solar and biogas, that electricity supply can be met with 100% renewables. There is no need for climate wrecking coal fired power stations or nuclear waste.

Climate Change is the biggest threat to our countryside and way of life that we now face and considering the potential suffering of millions worldwide, no one can morally object to an initiative like this which could help reduce that threat by preventing the emission of 32,000 tonnes of CO2 a year.

Opponents claim they are ineffective, but even running at 30% capacity this 13.8MW farm would produce 36,000 MW hours per year, enough to power 9,000 homes, and that’s 36,000 MWh that a coal fired power station does not have to produce.

I have done a lot of research into this, even visited a large wind farm and if I seriously thought anyone would be adversely affected I could not support it as passionately as I do.

Using a natural and free resource, we believe they are a graceful addition to our landscape, reassuring our community that we are making a positive contribution to the future.

If you agree with us, please write to Purbeck District Council Planning dept. Westport House, Wareham expressing your support or drop us an email at wind4dorset@hotmail.co.uk “

Following our story about the protest group set up against the East Stoke (Alaska) Wind Farm proposal comes news of the launch of a campaign in favour of the project.

Peter Barker, a local resident, will launch the campaign support group in Wareham on Saturday.

As we stated, it is important that opposing arguments are heard and that the vociferous protests of those against the wind farm don’t drown out those who believe wind power, along with other renewable energy sources, can play a key part in fighting climate change and securing future energy supplies for the UK.

A mere 1.5% of our electricity comes from wind power compared to 20% in Denmark, despite the fact that 40% of the continent’s winds blows across our shores.

We could be a world leader in renewable energy, exporting it to Europe and beyond, instead of lingering near the bottom of the European clean energy table.

The previously reported East Stoke wind farm proposal has been a highly contentious issues since its inception last year so it comes as no surprise that a protest group has now been formed.

The group, led by group chairman Geoff Edwardes, has teamed up with the Campaign to Protect Rural England and they both vow to fight the proposal ‘all the way’.

They argue that the six 125 metre-high wind turbines that are proposed for the Masters Pitt quarry in East Stoke will be a blight on the Purbeck landscape and that wind power is an unreliable form of renewable energy.

Those in favour of the turbines argue that wind power is a reliable energy source and that it is vital in the fight against climate change and declining non-renewable energy sources, and it is something Purbeck and Dorset should be leading the way in. Many people also find wind turbines a fascinating and attractive part of the landscape.

Coming off the fence, the wind farm is something that we are in favour of at the moment for the reasons mentioned above but we want to see a full debate from both sides over the coming months.  

You can see further details of the Alaska Wind Farm (as it has been named) on Infinergy’s website and sign up to be kept informed of further developments.

A public consultation for plans for a wind farm at East Stoke took place recently with 76% of respondents supportive of the scheme.

The Alaska Wind Farm, as it is being called, will consist of 6 turbines that are 125 metres high and would provide energy to over half the homes in the Purbeck District.

Infinergy, the company behind the scheme, are continuing a period of consultation and you can fill in a questionnaire and keep up-to-date on the progress of their proposals, which are still at an early stage, on their website.