The answer is blowin' in the wind (From Salisbury Journal)

The answer is blowin' in the wind

3:32pm Thursday 27th August 2009

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A SMALL but growing band of enthusiasts is spreading the word about the advantages of wind power for Wiltshire.

Their chairwoman Rachel Ross, who lives in Salisbury and is a home energy adviser for Wiltshire Council, says their ideal would be to see one or two small-scale wind farms operating “in appropriate places” in the county.

She describes her fellow members of the Wiltshire Community Wind Energy group as “people who are concerned about climate change and looking for practical solutions”.

The group, formed in April last year, started by carrying out a mapping exercise, looking for areas of high land with high average wind speeds, and identified 18 possible sites.

“There used to be 102 windmills in Wiltshire, and there are still hills called Windmill Hill all over the county,” said Rachel.

“It’s actually quite difficult and quite time-consuming finding out who owns pieces of land.

“The idea is that we research the sites and see if there are any houses nearby that might be affected.

“We approach the landowner and tell them the site might be suitable, ask whether they are interested, explain that it might be possible to generate some income from it, and ask whether they would like us to help them look into it further.

“There are a couple of places where owners are thinking along these lines. A feasibility study is being carried out in Urchfont, for example.

“We will contact people in the local community, and chat informally to residents’ groups and parish councils to explain the advantages.

“A small site with five wind turbines can produce half the energy needed for homes in a small town like Corsham or Bradford on Avon or Amesbury.

“We might organise a bus trip for them to Westmill, a community-owned wind farm in Oxfordshire, where five wind turbines are now up and running, to experience it for themselves. People, understandably, fear the unknown.

“But I wouldn’t say the turbines are noisy, compared to traffic noise. And the RSPB has recently come out in favour of wind farms, when appropriately sited away from migratory routes. They are happy that they don’t kill birds.”

She adds: “Obviously Wiltshire is not suited to huge fields of turbines, like parts of Scotland. And we have to avoid areas of natural beauty, military land and archaeological sites.

“Wind energy is only part of the solution, not the whole answer.

“But surely we could try to find one site in the county. The council has obligations to contribute to renewable energy generation, and we are hoping to have an input into their plans and encourage them to look positively at wind energy.”

The group meets every two months at various places around the county, including Salisbury. The next meeting is in September. You can find out more on www.wiltshirewind.org.uk.

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