A NINE mile long and 60 metre wide cable could be built across rural Torridge if plans for the Atlantic Array go ahead.
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North Hoyle Offshore Wind Farm |
Plans for RWE Npower Renewables include creating a new substation in Alverdiscott to connect the offshore windfarm to the national grid.
The three cables going from the station to the Bristol Channel will pass through many hamlets before going out to sea at the Cornborough Range near Abbotsham.
They will travel through the outskirts of Bideford near Gammaton Moor, just north of Tennacott before crossing the River Torridge at Hallsannery.
The cables will then pass north of Littleham, Moorhead and Winscott Barton before going through the village of Abbotsham and out to sea on the Cornborough Range.
The company said: "We have selected a route which seeks to minimise contact with houses and features of particular environmental interest, such as streams, woodlands and sites of archaeological interest wherever possible.
"Following cable installation, topsoil and hedgerows will be reinstated and replanted."
Devon County Councillor, Alison Boyle, represents Abbotsham.
She said: "When construction commences it will have an immediate impact on the farming operations of the landowners, and there may will be limitations on what landowners can do with their land once construction is complete.
"Landowners have been informed by the land agent acting for RWE that this is the chosen route, as against being previously referred to as the preferred route.
"I am not sure how much consultation has taken place with the landowners, but I know they have permitted a variety of environmental studies to be run."
Torridge district councillor, Kathy Murdoch, who represents the Abbotsham ward did not want to comment on the plans for the cable to go through the village.
Source: http://www.thisisdevon.co.uk/
Perhaps these people WOULD be commenting if they read the following story?, before having a 60ft wide cable plonked though the Village.
Official: Windfarms are totally useless.
The report, Analysis of UK Wind Generation, is the result of detailed analysis of windfarm output in Scotland over a 26-month period between November 2008 to December 2010 using data from the
BMRS (Balancing Mechanism Reporting System). It's the first report of its kind, and drew on data freely available to the public. It challenges five common assertions made regularly by wind industry and the Scottish Government:
1. 'Wind turbines will generate on average 30% of their rated capacity over a year'In fact, the average output from wind was 27.18% of metered capacity in 2009, 21.14% in 2010, and 24.08% between November 2008 and December 2010 inclusive.
2. 'The wind is always blowing somewhere'On 124 separate occasions from November 2008 to December 2010, the total generation from the windfarms metered by National Grid was less than 20MW (a fraction of the 450MW expected from a capacity in excess of 1600 MW). These periods of low wind lasted an average of 4.5 hours.
3. 'Periods of widespread low wind are infrequent.'Actually, low wind occurred every six days throughout the 26-month study period. The report finds that the average frequency and duration of a low wind event of 20MW or less between November 2008 and December 2010 was once every 6.38 days for a period of 4.93 hours.
4. 'The probability of very low wind output coinciding with peak electricity demand is slight.'At each of the four highest peak demand points of 2010, wind output was extremely low at 4.72%, 5.51%, 2.59% and 2.51% of capacity at peak demand.
5. 'Pumped storage hydro can fill the generation gap during prolonged low wind periods.'The entire pumped storage hydro capacity in the UK can provide up to 2788MW for only 5 hours then it drops to 1060MW, and finally runs out of water after 22 hours.