A lack of experienced renewable energy engineers could put contracts for nine new wind turbine projects in jeopardy as there are not enough suitably qualified people to install the turbines at their designated locations in the Firth of Forth and Moray Firth in the Scottish Highlands.
The Green Village News Tagged ‘wind turbines’
Lack of Engineers Put Offshore Wind Farm Development at Risk
Saturday, January 9th, 2010Vestas Workers Lose The Battle To Keep Wind Turbine Factory Open
Wednesday, August 12th, 2009
After 18 days of sit in protests from 11 workers trying to get their voices heard and save the Vestas Blades factory on the Isle of Wight the fight is over. A court order granted last week gave the authorisation for bailiffs to forcibly remove the sit-in protesters from the building.
The wind turbine factory was the only wind turbine manufacturing plant in the UK, which was originally looked at to be converted to make wind turbine blades that were tailored to the UK. Vestas backtracked on the decision however, blaming the UK planning system. The company also attributed the closing of the factory to insufficient demand in the UK for wind turbines, claims which come despite commitments to investing in more renewable energy from the UK government, and around the world.
Friends Of The Earth Call On Government To Save British Wind Power Jobs
Thursday, July 16th, 2009
The day after the release of the DECC White Paper announcing the government’s intention to invest more in wind power, committing to a target of 30% of the country’s energy to be generated through renewable energy sources by 2020 and promising the creation of jobs in the environment sector, environmental campaigners Friends of the Earth have called for the government to safeguard the jobs we already have.
Vestas Blades wind turbine factory on the Isle of Wight, home to 600 jobs, is due to close in July, and FOE have joined forces with trade union ‘Unite’ and are calling on people to show their support for the UK’s only wind turbine manufacturers by sending letters to Lord Mandelson, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, asking him to act to save the UK’s wind industry.
Antiwind Super Group NAWAG Could Cause Problems For Wind Farm Developers
Tuesday, June 16th, 2009
At a time when governments and organisations are striving to make commitments to cut carbon emissions, the source of the UK’s energy is a bone of contention for many. Discussions about nuclear, new generations of coal fired power stations and carbon capture and storage (CCS) are discussed almost daily, and the arguments about wind power are certainly high up on the agenda.
Despite being a technology that is used successfully by a number of other countries around the world to meet power needs, and the installation of new wind turbines and wind farms across the UK being a flagship policy for green energy companies such as Ecotricity and Good Energy, wind energy certainly has its enemies as well as its advocates. Across the UK, more than 200 anti-wind action groups exist, 30 of which have joined together to create the National Alliance of Wind Farm Action Groups (NAWAG), headed up by chairman of corporate communications and public affairs at PR group Weber Shandwick, Jon McLeod.
Isle of Wight Wind Turbine Factory To Close
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
Vestas Blades, Britain’s only wind turbine manufacturing factory, shut down operations and announced closure yesterday. The decision to close down has been blamed on a lack of demand for wind turbine parts in Northern Europe and the effects of the global financial problems currently affecting the world.
Workers at the plant have been given 90 days’ notice of the imminent redundancies, however environmental campaigners Greenpeace have questioned whether Gordon Brown could have done more to prevent the factory having to close down, commenting that although last week’s Budget commitment is a positive move, it is “too little too late”.
Wind Turbine Controversy in Staffordshire
Monday, March 9th, 2009Severn Trent are causing controversy in Staffordshire with proposed plans to install a test mast to ascertain whether it would be a feasible site for the installation of full size wind turbines on the site of their sewage treatment plant near Checkley in the Staffordshire Moorlands. A meeting was held on Friday 6th March to enable residents living near to the proposed development site to voice any concerns and receive information from representatives of other communities where wind turbines have been installed. Local MPs were also present at the meeting.
Severn Trent’s corporate responsibility policy sees them making commitments to reducing the amount of energy they consume as a company, and their website states that Severn Trent
“is an energy intensive business, using large amounts of energy to pump and treat both sewage and drinking water.”
In addition, Severn Trent are working towards increasing the amount of energy used that is generated by their own activity. In 2007-08 they generated the equivalent of 17% of the total operating costs of the company, and state that,
“By 2013, we aim to have almost doubled our renewable electricity generation, covering 30% of our needs.”
Inevitably developments in this area are going to see Severn Trent installing more energy generation equipment including wind turbines and hydro technology. At the meeting on Friday, Severn Trent’s renewable energy development manager, Martin Dent, commented that the definitive site for the installation of the turbines has not yet been decided, and the proposed test mast they are seeking to install will be used to collect data over the next 18 months to inform the final decision.
Residents are concerned that the ultimate decision to install turbines at the site in East Staffordshire would impact on their homes and those of residents living within 5km of the site in the Staffordshire Moorlands by reducing property value, causing noise and ‘shadow flicker’ disturbances, and that the installation and look of the turbines would have a damaging effect on the local environment.
Wind Turbines Blown Away
Wednesday, February 18th, 2009Earlier this month B&Q made the decision to remove wind turbines from the shelves following months of customer feedback and a report from Encraft, an independent energy consultancy business.
The report had shown that the wind turbines that had been on sale at B&Q were not producing the levels of energy that the manufacturer had claimed, and in some cases were only providing as much energy as the turbine itself required to operate, or to power a conventional light bulb for an hour.
B&Q have said that the problem with customers not being able to generate as great a proportion of the energy they use from the wind is due to the number of their customers who live in an urban environment. It is certainly true that in order to obtain a good power output, being in a more exposed area such as an open aspect, or at the top of a hill, is important. Let’s face it; most urban areas don’t tend to be in that sort of location.
The lesson to take from this is not that wind turbines are rubbish and a waste of money, but that taking advantage of renewable energy is not something we can do because we want to, but because it is there to be taken advantage of in the first place.
Find out more about Wind Turbines and installation at the Encraft website
