The prosaically named ATLANTIC ARRAY which will blot the seascape of our coastline for the rest of the century is a giant abomination.

This German imposition on our county must be stopped.

The following is from the Daily Telegraph:

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WIND FARM PAID £1.25 MILLION TO NOT PRODUCE ELECTRICITY

The amount is ten times greater than the wind farm's owners would have received had they actually generated any electricity.

The disclosure exposes the bizarre workings of Britain's electricity supply, prompting calls last night for an official investigation into the payments system.

The £1.2 million will go to a Norwegian company which owns 60 turbines in the Scottish Borders.

The National Grid asked the company, Fred Olsen Renewables, to shut down its Crystal Rig II wind farm last Saturday for a little over eight hours amid fears the electricity network would become overloaded.

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DO EVERYTHING YOU CAN TO STOP THE ATLANTIC ARRAY FROM SPOILING OUR COASTLINE.

By ROOMATTHETOP at 12:20 on 18/09/11

Re-post

What concerns me over windfarms is the way developers come in,get the go ahead to build windfarms,then dissapear,but return 2 years later to get permission to build a huge sub station alongside the wind farm,and then 2 years later,get permission to build huge overhead pylons,so they can hold the power,then distribute it.
It happened in rural Wales,and its going to happen here, pylons everywhere.
At huge cost to the owners these cables can be buried underground(AND MUST BE BURIED UNDERGROUND)which still causes huge damage,but is preferable over a pylon hell!

By skareggae72 at 11:23 on 20/09/11
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Anyone who attended the exhibition about Atlantic Array at the Brit last week would have seen the devastating effect the wind turbines would have on our coastline. What really brought it home to me was the simulated views available on their computer. When you work out the distance in mileage it will only be 13-15 miles from our coastline. Whereas now we can see the coast of Wales on the horizon what we will see is a line of turbines. The views from Woolacombe, Mortehoe and Putsburgh will be impacted upon more than Ilfracombe.
There were a lot of people there and a lot of form filling-in but I doubt public opinion will make any difference. It's my understanding from listening to some council person on the news that North Devon has nothing to gain economically from this project. We should be out on the streets !!!!!

By Sue200 at 18:22 on 20/09/11
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There will soon be an on-line petition against the Atlantic Array and I'll place the web address here when it gets approval to go on the HM Government's petition site. Everyone in North Devon should protest against this hideous development which will completely destroy our outlook to sea. I feel like moving back to London.

By ROOMATTHETOP at 21:36 on 20/09/11
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I didn't make it to the consultation, can anyone explain to me why the turbines have to be so close to the coast and ruin the view instead of further out at sea where no-one can see them????

By DevonDimpler at 17:09 on 26/09/11
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$Profile image for Ilfracombedad$

I guess lack knowledge is the reason why the previous 5 postings were made -
1. the project was developed by Peter Crone ( I knew him 10 years since as DWF based in N Devon when his office was in Whiddon Valley) -
2 Wind Farms have a life expectancy of 25 years,
3 I thought tourism in Lake District had increased - despite Morecambe bay having several offshore wind farms
I guess you'd all rather have another nuclear power station, but hey in this country the're all foreign owned, and leave a 10000 year pollution legacy for our kids. But as we are the most selfish generation that's ever lived why should we care.....
PS Do you know the first long term pilot study of wind turbines was on Slade Down, Ilfracombe - having proved the value the turbine was removed and is now a field grazed on by cattle not even visible by sattelite photography

By Ilfracombedad at 14:54 on 02/10/11
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The tubine on Slade Down most certainly is still visible,and the area is not grazed by cattle,its in a farm depot,and a huge concrete base is still clearly visible,and probably penetrates into the ground by around 10feet.

By skareggae72 at 18:20 on 02/10/11
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To: Room at the Top. Having been advised by a local MP and a few other parties that the only possible way of getting the Atlantic Array stopped I wonder if there is any possibility of you rewording your petition. I would like to email if possible so that I can explain further. Am wondering if you have a facebook page or if there is some other way we can contact each other?
As for lack of knowledge being the reason for the 5 comments as stated by 'ilfracombedad' I beg to differ having downloaded and read RWE's Vol 1 PDF. I am amazed at how often these turbines catch fire, lose a blade and find the amount of birds and bats killed by them absolutely horryfying. Are we now just going to let RWE also devastate our marine life and fishing industry as well? RWE themselves admit these turbines even have an adverse effect on the surf. No I do not lack knowledge. Apart from all the devastation caused by these turbines the public then have to compensate the owners when the wind blows too strong for them to be safely switched on. The carbon footprint created by installing these winfarms counter balances any benefits.

By salza12 at 20:40 on 04/10/11
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Perhaps one of the more telling ecological snags with this scheme came to light during a meeting I was at, hosted by DEFRA. That meeting was specifically to showcase a new planning law for marine environments, and during discussions, both the Atlantic Array and the the new MCZ (no take zones) were raised. I suggested that as no one in their right minds would trawl between the turbines, then surely the MCZ footprint could be the same as the windfarm?
Apparantly not, because much aquatic wildlife won't live near the turbines, as the vibrations and field currents upset their sensitive marine sensory systems. Can you imagine any land-based development being given permission to lay ecological waste to 25 square miles, merely to give a German industrial conglomorate (RWE AG) £2,8 billion in UK taxpayer's subsidies per year.
Oh, and contrary to what you read above, I believe the ONLY power generator not foreign owned is half of the UK nuclear fleet.

By madrigaul at 01:16 on 07/10/11
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We need to generate some people power here. Make a stand. Signing petiions will not get us heard. How about a protest walk?

Have been researching the net for the effects on our health and wind turbines cause. One link low, but there are many.

http://tinyurl.com/3s2wbfs

This Alantic Array project is going to have a huge negative effect on our environment, not just because of the scenary, but to the oceans and the marine wildlife. Plus the effect that it will have on us.

We need to take action

By madz1974 at 00:00 on 11/10/11
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Ilfracombe Town Council is asking for residents views on the Atlantic Array project. You can put your views on the ITC Forum website:
http://tinyurl.com/3mnugvq

By jemma14 at 15:35 on 12/10/11
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I'm not sure why the ITC website address has not been printed as I typed. The Ilfracombe Town Coucil has a Forum website with 'Share your views" but for some reason unable to state it here?

By jemma14 at 15:39 on 12/10/11
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Think it's just an automatic URL shortener jemma14-copy and paste the link that's what I do: http://tinyurl.com/36qebkk This is obviously a controversial issue, much like the Fullabrook windfarm, half the people I know love it and think this form of renewable energy is the way forward, the other half hate it and think it ruins the local landscape.

By devondaisy at 17:26 on 12/10/11
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Visit http://tinyurl.com/bnyf9u7 for more info

By Salza02 at 02:19 on 18/11/11
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I read today that The National Trust have raised concerns over the Atlantic Array project with regard to marine life and conservation around Lundy - this is a hopeful sign as surely they will be listened to by the powers that be!

By jemma14 at 18:06 on 24/11/11
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Being against Atlantic Array is nothing to do with nimbyism, nor is about the understanding that we do need green renewable energy. It is about being against Atlantic Array for the following reasons, and even the 'greens' have to agree with this reasoning.
• Impact on Coastline
• Wind turbines do not generate electricity when the wind is too low or too high. Electricity must be instantaneously available day and night to meet "base load" requirements. As a country we have to spend an additional £10 billion on those 17 dedicated power stations, which will be kept running on "spinning reserve", 24 hours a day, just to make up for the fundamental problem of wind turbines whilst creating CO2.
• An estimated further £100 billion is needed to develop a nationwide 'Smart Grid' which can effectively work with intermittent wind power

• No effective research appears to have been done on wildlife. There are many reports from people near other wind farms about seals aborting, probably due to noise and vibration disturbances. It is thought female seals are attracted to the noise emitted by the support vessels propulsion systems and get sucked through. Dead seals washed up on beaches in areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty does not seem a good idea – nor in a Marine Conservation area. Plus the enormous bases will cause the deflected tide to wash out the sand and scour the sea bed so no fish.
• No one knows what will happen to the erosion changes to Northam Burrows or Braunton Burrows- a United Nations designated Biosphere Reserve.
• This can only be built with enormous government subsidies paid for out of our taxes and there are well founded fears of fuel bills tripling by the end of the decade.
• Wind turbines are made of non-recyclable material .
• Don't be fooled. There will be no jobs for North Devon. Only 200 permanent jobs will result and Wales is opening a new £7m renewable energy training centre in South Wales creating 250 new jobs and training many people for Wales and UK. Logically high energy costs kill economic growth. Wind farms create the most expensive form of energy; therefore they cripple companies and make people poorer. Research shows 4.2 jobs may be lost through missed opportunities to put that money towards more useful and productive ends. Wind turbines are built in Sweden and Germany – NOT UK
• The gearbox of a 300-foot-tall, two-megawatt wind turbine contains 372 kilograms of neodymium and 60 kilograms of dysprosium, both rare metals, which need to be mined, and require five times as much steel and concrete per unit of power produced compared to nuclear plants.
• Evidence indicates off shore wind farms produce "blank spots" that distort radar readings so that government agencies that depend on radar. The Department of Defence and the National Weather Service are spending millions adapting their radar systems to cope. However what about the radar effect on small ships and small aircraft? Shipping needs effective radar particularly in the light of just having lost our Coastguard station at Swansea, and a much reduced light from Hartland Lighthouse.
• The whole of the area used for the Atlantic Array will effectively be closed for all boating. This includes commercial fishing , dive boats and commercial sailing. No one in their right minds would consider sailing through this area and fishermen certainly will not be able to trawl their nets. We are already hampered where we sail due to Pembroke marine firing ranges, one of which is the second largest and busiest firing range in the world!
• Tide is calculable, measurable, and predictable, both long and short term. The Bristol Channel has one of the most tidal areas of the world,

By nikitait at 18:54 on 05/01/12
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Well, nikitait, you have provided a first class set of reasons to reject the Atlantic Array. May I use some of the technical detail in my next letter to Nick Harvey? He ought to be aware already of these disadvantages but I sometimes wonder whose fence he sits on.

By ROOMATTHETOP at 00:20 on 06/01/12
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