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PROPOSED WIND FARMS

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24

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    #32
    paidinanthony
    Registered Users Posts: 27 ✭paidinanthony


    Outkast_IRE wrote: »
    It will be very simple really, if your very near one of the turbines they will look to buy you out, if you dont move they will relook at the turbine positioning as , they are strict enough about noise levels from the wind farm at the nearest dwellings.
    Wait till the application is lodged before worrying , you could look at the application and the nearest turbine could be well away from your house.[/Q

    My own home is not my one and only concern.And you are correct in saying that I dont even know where the nearest one will be.But keep in mind that the intention is for hundreds of these accross the midlands.There are different numbers being given and I am not sure of the facts.Read the article in the Westmeath Examiner this week.There will be very few places in Westmeath that wont be near one.While Wind energy sounds like the answer to all energy problems I will end by quoting the old saying "all that glitters is not necessarily gold"


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    #33
    Eiriu
    Closed Accounts Posts: 106 ✭✭Eiriu


    These Windfarms will completely transform the landscape and aesthetic of the Irish Midlands Countryside.

    These large windfarms are both unnatural and prominent.

    With regard to the British element- Am I not correct in saying that Britain will not allow the construction of windfarms in her countryside due to their unsightly nature. I would pass more heed on the views of legislators in that country. Therefore I don't think they should be built here either


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    #34
    Outkast_IRE
    Registered Users Posts: 7,516 ✭✭✭Outkast_IRE


    Eiriu wrote: »
    These Windfarms will completely transform the landscape and aesthetic of the Irish Midlands Countryside.

    These large windfarms are both unnatural and prominent.

    With regard to the British element- Am I not correct in saying that Britain will not allow the construction of windfarms in her countryside due to their unsightly nature. I would pass more heed on the views of legislators in that country. Therefore I don't think they should be built here either
    Your giving an opinion on how they look, you want to ban something over how you feel it looks ?

    I like the look of a well designed windfarm as do many others. If you want to stop something going ahead think of a better reason than " i dont like the look of them".


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    #35
    paidinanthony
    Registered Users Posts: 27 ✭paidinanthony


    Outkast_IRE wrote: »
    Your giving an opinion on how they look, you want to ban something over how you feel it looks ?

    I like the look of a well designed windfarm as do many others. If you want to stop something going ahead think of a better reason than " i dont like the look of them".
    The British minister for the environment,Mr John Hayes is a longstanding oponent of the further devolopement of further onshore windfarms in the uk.I am sure he is not a fool nor are the British people he represents fools !


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    #36
    Outkast_IRE
    Registered Users Posts: 7,516 ✭✭✭Outkast_IRE


    paidinanthony wrote: »
    The British minister for the environment,Mr John Hayes is a longstanding oponent of the further devolopement of further onshore windfarms in the uk.I am sure he is not a fool nor are the British people he represents fools !
    And a single british minister pandering to public opinion in the uk effects us here in ireland how ??


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    #37
    paidinanthony
    Registered Users Posts: 27 ✭paidinanthony


    You have just answered your own question.it effects the midlands rural communities in that we may have these things imposed on us because of that Ministers pandering to the electorate.look at who our own ministers pander to .Angela Merkle ?


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    #38
    athlonelad
    Registered Users Posts: 443 ✭✭athlonelad


    paidinanthony wrote: »
    You have just answered your own question.it effects the midlands rural communities in that we may have these things imposed on us because of that Ministers pandering to the electorate.look at who our own ministers pander to .Angela Merkle ?
    Wind power is cool. It's the way forward. We should use it more.
    Your going to argue with anyone who disagrees with you. Why should you or anyone else feel they should be able to stop the landowner making a living on his own land. You are not under any danger and you will be half a kilometre away from them at least.
    It's for the greater good. Doesn't matter if it's being exported or not. If it did matter the same argumentccould be made for any Irish product being exported. What are we to do stop exporting cattle,? Guinness? Our dairy products?


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    #39
    paidinanthony
    Registered Users Posts: 27 ✭paidinanthony


    athlonelad wrote: »
    Wind power is cool. It's the way forward. We should use it more.
    Your going to argue with anyone who disagrees with you. Why should you or anyone else feel they should be able to stop the landowner making a living on his own land. You are not under any danger and you will be half a kilometre away from them at least.
    It's for the greater good. Doesn't matter if it's being exported or not. If it did matter the same argumentccould be made for any Irish product being exported. What are we to do stop exporting cattle,? Guinness? Our dairy products?
    the only thing you said there thats accurate is "wind power is cool"


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    #40
    athlonelad
    Registered Users Posts: 443 ✭✭athlonelad


    paidinanthony wrote: »
    I am not an expert on wind energy.
    maybe if you
    do some more research and come back when you know more. Maybe after you learn about wind energy some more you can make a more educated comment.
    You may learn how clean and efficient they are. The good outweighs the bad. Maybe not in your mind at the moment but I bet you would really grow to love them.


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    #41
    Eiriu
    Closed Accounts Posts: 106 ✭✭Eiriu


    I just don't think we should rush into building these windfarms.

    Do you not think that it is unacceptable, that the British, having decided to ban the use of onshore windfarms in Britain, wants to build them in the Irish midlands?

    Its kind of like when Britain used Ireland for a source of food during the industrial revolution- we are being exploited again. I also have more respect for British rather than Irish policy makers when it comes to long term planning so I therefore agree with their view that onshore windfarms are unsuitable.

    Its all very well making the argument that the landowner needs to make a living from the land. However look where such emphasis on short term monetry gains for landowners got us during the celtic tiger. Also owning the freehold to land does not in any way entitle the landowner to do whatever he wants on it. It does not entitle him to build whatever he wants on his land and to ruin the aesthetic of the land around him. If a farmer can't earn a living from farming from his land then he must be bad at it. And if the land is too bad to farm on then he is unlikely to have paid much for it. Any landowners who make make massive profits from these should face a windfall tax.

    Landowners wanting to make unearned captial sums off land at the expense of the general population- I think we had enough of that during the Celtic Tiger.

    Irish people are not very good at long term strategic planning. All people can think about is the short term monetry gains for landowners and the exchequer in the next two to three years. These windfarms will not even have that massive an impact on the rural economy. However they will blight the landscape for the rest of our lives.


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    #42
    paidinanthony
    Registered Users Posts: 27 ✭paidinanthony


    athlonelad wrote: »
    maybe if you
    do some more research and come back when you know more. Maybe after you learn about wind energy some more you can make a more educated comment.
    You may learn how clean and efficient they are. The good outweighs the bad. Maybe not in your mind at the moment but I bet you would really grow to love them.
    Do you think you might be qualified to teach me ?


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    #43
    Outkast_IRE
    Registered Users Posts: 7,516 ✭✭✭Outkast_IRE


    Look i think im going to bow out of this thread, i came here to make logical proven, fact based points, which i did.

    The responses have been basically " but the british are stopping them " just so you know this isnt their stance on wind power at all, one minister made a stupid statement and the government came out straight away and said it wasnt their stance. But the british anti wind power movement seized on it as its the only new thing they can say in years.

    If you want to have a fact based discussion dont keep referring to the british, i could just say look at germany , france, spain, portugal, denmark are all still building onshore wind farms.

    This isnt a politics of windfarm thread.

    Again i ask the question to the detractors have you visited a modern windfarm ?


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    #44
    paidinanthony
    Registered Users Posts: 27 ✭paidinanthony


    This is also my last coment on this thread.I raised this topic because I fear that alot people are not aware of the plans that being worked on at present by a very powerful organisation.I am not against wind energy but I am not willing to accept it in totality just because some profit motivated tycoon like Eddie O Connor of Main Stream renewable power tells us" how lucky the people of the midlands are that he is trying to develope this project here."He actually tries to tell us that it will boost house prices with the increased wealth.It will boost tourism because people are fascinated by them and will come to look at them.I felt that people who were concerned for their rural landscape all made valid point on this topic.However the pro wind group came accross as aggressive and intolerent of any one who might dare question the suitability of the windfarms.(people dont like them must be uneducated).As long as people get a chance to have their concerns heard before this huge enterprise gets the green light.

    Goodbye.


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    #45
    Eiriu
    Closed Accounts Posts: 106 ✭✭Eiriu


    Yes I've visited a wind farm and they are quite spectacular looking.

    So is the Empire state building, the Sydney opera house ect, ect.

    However I do not believe that windfarms fit in the Westmeath rural landscape.

    You might claim that Westmeath has no scenic areas, but having lived in the county I would have to disagree.

    Think of it like this, If you look across a rural skyline and a massive Windfarm is located in front of you then this is what dominates the image- it is not the countryside. You see the countryside and the windfarm.

    Therefore the whole landscape is massively altered. The dominant image that comes into your view is the wind pylons.

    I've seen the windfarm that has been built in Kilmore in county Wexford. When you look down the coast from Cullenstown beach, the first thing you notice is the windfarm. As the windfarm is immediately transposed on your consiousness, it takes away the rest of the scenery, that has been there for thousands of years.

    I'm from a business background myself, and I am generally very positive toward measures that will kickstart our economic recovery. However taking a machiavellian approach toward recovery, that does not take into account the long term impact on a largely unspoilt rural landscape is not the answer.

    I think it is quite selfish from the landowners in question, if they loved their land as they should then they would'nt be looking to build these windfarms. The money earned will be spent in a couple of years but their farms and the lives of their ancestors will be altered for at least a century.

    I just suppose some people value the rural landscape more than others.


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    #46
    athlonelad
    Registered Users Posts: 443 ✭✭athlonelad


    paidinanthony wrote: »
    Do you think you might be qualified to teach me ?
    Yeah sure send me a pm and I can get you started on the basics. But I'm not cheap as you can imagine


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    #47
    Gurgle
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,064 ✭✭✭Gurgle


    Eiriu wrote: »
    I think it is quite selfish from the landowners in question, if they loved their land as they should then they would'nt be looking to build these windfarms. The money earned will be spent in a couple of years but their farms and the lives of their ancestors will be altered for at least a century.

    I just suppose some people value the rural landscape more than others.

    I guess its down to priorities.

    If you want to generate power without pollution, and preserve/repair the country's ecosystem then its windmills all the way.

    If you think its more important that the scenery looks like it did 100 years ago, and don't care what flora and fauna are dying out or what poisonous or radioactive waste is making its way into the food chain then no windmills for you.


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    #48
    nice_guy80
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,722 ✭✭✭nice_guy80


    Gurgle wrote: »
    I guess its down to priorities.

    If you want to generate power without pollution, and preserve/repair the country's ecosystem then its windmills all the way.

    If you think its more important that the scenery looks like it did 100 years ago, and don't care what flora and fauna are dying out or what poisonous or radioactive waste is making its way into the food chain then no windmills for you.

    plenty of space off the coast to generate power without impacting on people's quality of life and health
    same with empty islands off the west coast which would be perfectly suitable


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    #49
    Rasmus
    Registered Users Posts: 2,075 ✭✭✭Rasmus


    This maybe a silly question but why the heck would An Bord Pleanala agree to export renewable energy? If its internationally funded could they not come to an agreement to somehow divide the yields?


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    #50
    Fuzzy Clam
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,293 ✭✭✭Fuzzy Clam


    The part of Westmeath that I reside in has no real merit regarding scenic beauty. Plenty of bog land already being destroyed on a wholesale basis by Bord na Mona so as far as I'm concerned they can erect as many wind turbines as they like.
    Unlike the destruction of our bogs, the turbines can be deconstructed in the future and no lasting damage that I'm aware of.
    On another level, i actually find them quite pleasing on the eye.


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    #51
    Fuzzy Clam
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,293 ✭✭✭Fuzzy Clam


    Outkast_IRE wrote: »
    How many of the objecters on here have actually visited a wind farm ?

    I can tell you this, they arent noisy once your a few hundred meters away. You should visit a site.

    Even though planning permission says 500 meters minimum, they will look at location of dwellings thouroughly when choosing their sites.

    I've been near to the ones near Balliborough and don't remember hearing any noise at all. Of course, the wind may have been blowing in the opposite direction.


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    #52
    Eiriu
    Closed Accounts Posts: 106 ✭✭Eiriu


    Can anyone tell me when the next meeting is in relation to this?


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    #53
    paidinanthony
    Registered Users Posts: 27 ✭paidinanthony


    Eiriu wrote: »
    Can anyone tell me when the next meeting is in relation to this?
    The last meeting was in Bloomfield house hotel on Monday night last.The comitee said that the would call another meeting when there is further developements.I will send you a pm when the next one is on.


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    #54
    Gurgle
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,064 ✭✭✭Gurgle


    nice_guy80 wrote: »
    generate power without impacting on people's quality of life and health
    Would you like to explain how either quality of life or health are impacted by onshore wind farms?


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    #55
    paidinanthony
    Registered Users Posts: 27 ✭paidinanthony


    Gurgle wrote: »
    Would you like to explain how either quality of life or health are impacted by onshore wind farms?
    I know this question was not for me but let me highlight my concerns.
    The proposed wind turbines in the midlands are supposed to be 50metres higher than the ones in Cavan.
    The can be erected 500metres from a dwelling.Currently TD Willie Penrose has intorduced a bill seeking to have a minimium distance of 10 times the height of the turbine from the nearest dwelling.There is only a slim possibility that that this will be passed and highly unlikely before this planning application is decided upon.
    For anyone the minimum distance away there possibly could be a noise factor depending on wind direction.There is also the flicker factor when the sun is in correct position.A land owner could get up to 18000 a year from one of these turbines situated the minimum distance from his neighbour but as far away as possible from his own dwelling.Yet his is neighbour may be powerless to do anything about it.N.B I AM NOT SAYING THIS WILL HAPPEN ,BUT IT IS POSSIBLE


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    #56
    joela
    Registered Users Posts: 478 ✭✭joela


    Hang on a second here. So you mention Shadow Flicker and Noise both of which will be dealt with in the EIS so surely instead of jumping to conclusions and hitting panic buttons you should give them a chance to produce the damn thing and then review it? Sure at this stage they won't even have finalised sites, layouts etc. and any consultations with IFA etc are just groundwork and have no relevance to the general public. If they don't consult the public at the appropriate time well then that is a different story but there really is no point jumping up and down freaking people out before any of the facts are really known.
    paidinanthony wrote: »
    I know this question was not for me but let me highlight my concerns.
    The proposed wind turbines in the midlands are supposed to be 50metres higher than the ones in Cavan.
    The can be erected 500metres from a dwelling.Currently TD Willie Penrose has intorduced a bill seeking to have a minimium distance of 10 times the height of the turbine from the nearest dwelling.There is only a slim possibility that that this will be passed and highly unlikely before this planning application is decided upon.
    For anyone the minimum distance away there possibly could be a noise factor depending on wind direction.There is also the flicker factor when the sun is in correct position.A land owner could get up to 18000 a year from one of these turbines situated the minimum distance from his neighbour but as far away as possible from his own dwelling.Yet his is neighbour may be powerless to do anything about it.N.B I AM NOT SAYING THIS WILL HAPPEN ,BUT IT IS POSSIBLE


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    #57
    paidinanthony
    Registered Users Posts: 27 ✭paidinanthony


    joela wrote: »
    Hang on a second here. So you mention Shadow Flicker and Noise both of which will be dealt with in the EIS so surely instead of jumping to conclusions and hitting panic buttons you should give them a chance to produce the damn thing and then review it? Sure at this stage they won't even have finalised sites, layouts etc. and any consultations with IFA etc are just groundwork and have no relevance to the general public. If they don't consult the public at the appropriate time well then that is a different story but there really is no point jumping up and down freaking people out before any of the facts are really known.
    Please note I am not creating panic I simply answered a question posted by Gurgle on what possible what possible health aspects or quality of life could be attributed to onshore windfarms.If there was anything I said that is factualy incorrect I am sorrry ,let me know and I will correct it.


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    #58
    Fuzzy Clam
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,293 ✭✭✭Fuzzy Clam


    paidinanthony wrote: »
    The proposed wind turbines in the midlands are supposed to be 50metres higher than the ones in Cavan.
    That sounds a bit incredible to me. 50 meters higher?


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    #59
    wextipp
    Registered Users Posts: 344 ✭✭wextipp


    Eiriu wrote: »
    I've seen the windfarm that has been built in Kilmore in county Wexford. When you look down the coast from Cullenstown beach, the first thing you notice is the windfarm. As the windfarm is immediately transposed on your consiousness, it takes away the rest of the scenery, that has been there for thousands of years.
    I live in the area and can see the windmills from my house. Have to say I love seeing them working away in the wind. Looking at them as I type this actually. Can't see why you have a problem with them being tranposed on your consiousness. Do you object to trawlers going out fishing affecting your view of the Saltee Islands.


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    #60
    Zubeneschamali
    Registered Users Posts: 16,686 ✭✭✭✭Zubeneschamali


    wextipp wrote: »
    Do you object to trawlers going out fishing affecting your view of the Saltee Islands.

    Fishing is traditional, and should therefore continue forever just as it was back in the day.

    Wind farms are new, and therefore not allowed unless someone cuts me in on the moolah.


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    #61
    wextipp
    Registered Users Posts: 344 ✭✭wextipp


    Zubeneschamali wrote: »
    Fishing is traditional, and should therefore continue forever just as it was back in the day.

    Wind farms are new, and therefore not allowed unless someone cuts me in on the moolah.
    Be patient, in a few years wind farms will be considered traditional as well. Actually Windmills are traditional in the area. Just go down to Tacumshane


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