In sleepy rural North Shrophire, a battle is being played out which represents the cutting edge of resistance to the growing insanity of this government's energy policy.

As part of the EU’s plan to generate 20 percent of the UK's electricity using renewables, seven giant 340 ft 2MW wind turbines are being planned on a remote corner of the district, known as Lower Farm, Bearstone, attracting objections from 2,333 residents and businesses, six Parish Councils, two MPs and the neighbouring Borough Council.

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Is there any obligation to keep the turbines in working order,or can operators cover the capital outlay,take a few years profits and go out of business?

Sort of, vaguely, good news :

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.j ... rgy127.xml

Although, one good push by the greenshirts, and he'll probably get reshuffled off ...

The Instapundit has a link up [http://www.pajamasmedia.com/instapundit/archives2/023501.php] describing the growing problem of delivering alternative energy along a US elec-grid infrastructure not built to handle the added loads. Have you ever mentioned in your wind-farm writings whether the UK elec infrastructure is ready to bear the extra load these proposals will demand? Or have your ever wondered at the hidden, unmentioned cost of upgrading the infrastructure on top of simply building the giant whirly-gigs?

Yea... done it several times, the latest being here:

http://eureferendum.blogspot.com/2008/0 ... first.html

The figure is about £10 billion to prepare the infrastructure.

So add that to your 6 billion subsidy figure and we are now talking 16 billion, just to keep the Mellons happy and to obey the EU.

This is the figure that needs to be broadcast far and wide, as the public is no mood at all to waste that kind of money and anyone trying to justify it, is going to get very short shrift.

In his excellent paper "Wind Chill" Tony Lodge calculates the total cost of wind farms to be £100 billion by 2020. This figure does not include the amount neccessary to upgrade the infrastructure. Staggering.
The paper can be downloaded FOC from www.cps.org.uk The summary alone is interesting

Can anyone do a photo shop of Gordon Brown and/or Gollum Miliband wearing propeller beanies?
This has got to be taken beyond words.

What ahocked me was that a council planning officer approved the application. Surely such a controversial matter should have gone to the full planning committee.

No ... he has recommended it for approval. Now it is up to the Committee - but it doesn't look good!

Did anyone, at any point in this process, ever determine whether this wind farm and related infrastructure, backup power source component, and grid expansion will net out any actual energy production?
I think a very good case would have to be made that there is more energy being produced by this plan than it will take to produce and maintain the system.
I'd like to see some numbers.
Apparently, energy production is not the ultimate goal here.