University of Nottingham wind turbine plans look set to be turned down

“@sluggered: ""Looks like gerry gilbert is one of those "yes to wind" merchants who attempted to corrupt the vote on the issue"

Looks like you've made an unsupported allegation about another poster, and a fairly serious one at that. As they say on the boards: proof or STFU.

I would like to see rational consideration of all renewable energy options, but what's marked about the whole 'debate' (slanging match amongst entrenched camps, more like) is irrationality, prejudice, bigotry and knee-jerk opposition. If turbines are opposed in the cr@ppiest part of West Nottingham, by a sewage farm, industrial estate, marsh and major A road, then they'll be opposed anywhere. That's not rational. Sadly, the new 'common sense' of the middle classes is opposition to any and all renewable energy, an opposition represented in parliament by backwoods backwards Tories and MPs with close links to fossil energy suppliers.

Sometimes renewable schemes are part of the solution, sometimes they'll be inappropriate, sometimes they may be damaging. Cool and rational consideration of pros and cons is needed, but that's not an option when NIMBYs immediately get on high horses as soon as a planning application is made. At least the UoN proposals would have directly benefitted the city, the university and the local area, and the university made a strong effort to bring local people into the decision-making process. In return it's got posters on these boards accusing it of "greed", being "new comers" (LOL!), and riding "rough shod" (rather than smooth-soled?) "over the locals". The knee-jerk opposition to wind energy, in all its forms, and in any location, leads the NIMBYs to demonise all its proponents, such that an institution that brings in 00s of millions a year to the city, much of which sticks in the area, and is a major employer without which the city would be in deep ****e, is labelled a parasitic cuckoo in the nest.

That's the logic of NIMBYism. If opposition to wind energy is axiomatic and unquestioned, then much else that's irrational follows, including, for many, climate change denial.

But climate change is happening, extreme weather events are becoming more common, and the poles are melting at a measurable and accelerating rate. Yet NIMBYs blindly oppose wind energy and pat themselves on the back when they succeed. At least when Nero fiddled only Rome burned - while NIMBYs fiddle the Arctic melts.”

“Looks like gerry gilbert is one of those "yes to wind" merchants who attempted to corrupt the vote on the issue”

“125 metres is high enough to be seen from nearly all parts of the city and a few places in Derbyshire as well, it is not NIMBY it is in all our back yards it will seem so. Wind mills are not a very effective way to generate electricity and the capital cost is too high to recoup in the lifespan of the beast even at the rate at which energy costs are rising now and if fracking does take off the prices will fall and the government of the day will have to renege on the current agreement but of course the University does not have anyone of sufficient intelligence to factor in the risks all they can see is lots of dosh on offer and believe that they have the right to walk over the wishes of the local people. Democracy does not need to be considered. Current experience indicates that if is a government initiative it has it is very likely to be bad for us. Gerrymandering is not democratic.”

“Looks like another result for the NIMBYs, after the Rylands NIMBYs successfully got the previous turbine blocked. The "the main concerns being noise, the view, and the impact on wildlife". That'll be the view of the power station, the sewage farm and the industrial estate, I suppose? And the noise would be such a disturbance in the tranquil glades of Lenton, with only the A52 and Clifton Bridge to disturb the otherwise idyllic natural silences.

@andmikel: wherever the uni proposed to build a turbine it would be objected to. If they can't build turbines in the cr@ppiest part of Lenton then they can't build them anywhere.

Now it's funny you should mention fracking, as according to a BBC TV report the other day Notts is prime for fracking with shedloads of gas. Given the serious enviromental and human damage that fracking has already caused in the US (see the fine film Gasland), it would frankly serve the NIMBYs right to succeed in rejecting renewable energy and end up with polluted water, earth tremors, and the rest of the goodies that come with fracking.”

“Would not call it a short term gain, I would say it is a long term gain. A minimum of 25 years means the University would be raking off millions of pounds and they are relying on the subsidies of the public in their bills to help pay for the erection of them. Total farce by a University that now runs on greed.”

“The University of Nottingham has other places to site a wind turbine, the land near its sports centre off Beeston Lane could support one and it could be smaller, cheaper and on the campus.
They could save more money by upgrading their lighting of University Buildings and be a lot greener by not having to dispose of so many fluorescent tubes! Of course they could try a little fracking under the campus to get free gas and oil. The planners of their scheme do not seem to have any consideration for the resident population, the history and environment in which they live. They are the new comers, still a way from their centenary yet appear to want to walk rough shod over the locals for their short term gain. I doubt if the generous return on wind generated power will last more than a couple of governments at the most.”