Windmills- Corrupt payment for neighbours?

Marooned75 wrote: »

Your quote not mine does that answer your question

I think they are talking about the earning capacity a turbine has for the owners.

Stinicker wrote: »

You will also lose your Saorview TV reception if they buidl windmills between your aerial and the transmitter site. I'd object if I were you, no way in hell do you want them within 2-3miles of your home, the noise will drive you demented.

Really, your objection would be based on getting a good telly signal. And this noise you speak off, is it louder then the cars on the road outside? Most people now have houses with excellant windows and you won't hear much from outside.

There is a new wind farm going up near me. Some of the locals are planning on putting together a lobby group. I was asked to join a few weeks ago. I asked the group to tell me their list of objections. Also all of them related to visual impact and to lesser degree the increased road traffic during construction. When I asked if they would prefer a coal burning esb plant built instead there was a look of bemusement.

I personally have no objection to them. I have seen them in Germany, holland and Scandinavia for years. I lived in the northwest for a while too and lived near a couple for a few years.

All these very vague concerns about frequencys and shadows are all fine but how many people has wifi in their house and use mobile phones. These also are proposed to affect our life's. I wonder how many will also be complaining about the rises in energy costs as we become more and more reliant on russian gas and Saudi oil. We have no irish oil or gas (well none that will benifit the Irish public) so we need to explore alternative energy sources.

We are a small island sitting on the west coast if Europe. We live in a wet and windy climate so we should try to make the most if what we have.

Much of the objectors are more concerned with their own house value and views out the bathroom window then any concrete reasons, there is also a very signifacnt number that are motivated by jealously and greed. There was a proposed build on a hill opposite my home place about 5 years ago. It was for 4 units which would be on 4 adjoining farms. Each farmer was to get the same amount but one fella wanted more and wanted a second unit moved about 50m so it was on his place at the expense of a neighbour. When he company said no he went on to object to the whole plan. The whole epsoide was like a child throwing the toys out of the pram.

Farmer wrote: »

I think people are entitled to be somewhat concerned about anything that may detract from their current circumstances, especially when this will benefit many other people (construction, energy corporates, consumers, etc.) while seemingly offering them little for their inconvenience. Admittedly, some of their fears may be unfounded but many of us know real people who were plagued by rats and flies near landfill sites, all for the "greater good" of the rest of us, or those whose houses have been dwarfed by pylons or radio masts.

Greed certainly messes things up a bit (doesn't it everywhere?) but I certainly wouldn't condemn anyone for looking for a reasonable compensation for something that may detract from their current situation.

According to a 2010 SEAI document (things may have gotten a littkle cheaper since)

"The cost of wind energy?
• Total costs per MW of installed wind generation capacity can range from €1.3m - €1.9m"

Surely it's reasonable that local communities should share a little piece of that pie

I have no problem with local communities getting something from energy generation. In fact I think they should be used to provide cheaper energy from the grid to the public and not supply cheaper energy by the suppliers. The proposal to build massive turbines in the midlands to provide cheap power for britan would be a disgrace although it would typical of the quality of politicans we have to do that, as long as they get their brown envelopes they won't give a crap.

As for getting compensation, who should get how much for what? I can see a couple of windmills from my place they are about 10 miles away should I get something? I think not. Getting compensated cos you next to a dump or a quarry I can understand. Haven't seen any smoke from a turbine or toxic waste bellowing from one, not likely to see any dust coming from them either. If you live in the actual proximity of them then yes you should get something like with the esb pylons but if your looking across he valley at them then no.

Birdnuts wrote: »

The problem with wind energy is that it is unreliable and is therefore not "cheap", as it has to be backed up with conventional power sources when speeds are low. Also requires a very large investment for each MW as the turbines are usually located a long way from where the demand and conventional grid infrastructure exists. The former is a particular issue in the midlands were cold calm windless nights are a feature of many winters. Just when energy demand peaks.

My current understanding is that the 2 big midlands projects that have signed up a number of farmers still require many billions of euros of foreign investment(presumably their hoping for Chinese money) and a final agreement on what tariffs/subsidies the Brits are willing to pay for any power produced. This latter element appears to have become more uncertain recently given a growing public mood against rising energy bills in the UK and anti-wind power political parties doing well in the recent local elections. The Brits are also building a large new Nuclear power plant in the SW which which would go along way to solving their low carbon energy needs

we will need similar amounts of investment anyway to build more energy efficent power plants or if we too were to go down the nuclear route. There are also ideas to build storage plants like turloc hill which would use the wind power to pump the water to the resivor when the wind is up which it is on most days in ireland espically near the coast. the water then flows out through a convential hydro dam. Rain water and river levels are on always constant but we still use them to fill the resivor when plentiful. once the resivor is off siffucent size then could be built near the coast and filled with sea water although we'd proably end up witha few lads cribbing because the place they used to take the dogs every sunday would be under 50 feet of water.

Some food for thought for farmers considering hosting a wind turbine.

Some Australian farmers with big regrets:
stopthesethings.com/2013/02/17/i-am-a-wind-turbine-host/‎

A Canadian experience:
http://www.kincardinenews.com/2008/11/12/ripley-farmer-regrets-wind-turbine-leases

Username John wrote: »

Hello Greensleeves,
11 posts, and all on wind turbines...

My 12th post is also on wind turbines!

If the huge midlands windfarm projects go ahead 5 out of 26 of our counties will be changed forever. Any Irish farmer that signs up for a turbine is by default making a decision for his entire community. The turbines will be with us for the next 25 years. It is surely worth looking at the experience of farmers in other countries before making such a momentous decision?

An American farmer who regrets signing up for a wind turbine:
http://betterplan.squarespace.com/wisconsin-farmer-regrets-sayin/

grazeaway wrote: »

I'm sure there are also numerous studies where the farmer is happy with the windmill.

There are a few lads living along the transport route that are happy with the windmills, they have squeezed money out of the companies supplying and installing the turbines if they have to cut hedges or trees on bends to accommodate the long transport lorries,.

grazeaway wrote: »

i think there is a bit of a misconception that people are only interested in money when it comes to installing anything in the area, and that once they get "compensation" will allow anything up. I know of lads that will not except any money to have something on their land. I know of one lad who point blank refused the council permission to lay a sewer through his land. he successfully argued against a CPO as well and they had to re-route the sewer. He also refused an approach for a mobile phone mast but did not object to it going up in his neighbours.

While that may be true. I know people who have directly told me they bascially played hardball with the windturbine companies on the road access route and squeezed them for money. I am talking about along the main road, not in the land.

A neighbouring farmer puts up a new dairy, should I object because of the noise from milking machine and scrapers ....
Would a new slatted house 500 meters away devalue my bungalow ...
Farmer grows maize next behind my house , it's so tall it spoils my view and shades the house ..... Compo ? Planning for maize ....
Won't even start on forestry changing the character of the area, or slurry spreading at 6am, or tractors working through the night .....

Careful now, down with this sort of thing ....

There is a huge difference between an agricultiural development in an agricultural area and an industrial development. Windfarms are the latter and cannot be compared to milking parlours and the likes.

We always hear about the urban dweller who comes to the country and gives out about smells/noise etc. What we have here is the reverse; big industry coming to the countryside and changing the character of the area forever.

Make no mistake. Farmers are only pawns in the wind industry game, and those who get involved are very shortsighted.

Greensleeves wrote: »

In fairness I think this is more than a few cranks. This is not one or two neighbours getting upset about some trees; this is entire communities forming protest groups.

http://www.crewe-ireland.org/
http://lwig.net/
http://savethemidlands.com/
http://peopleoverwind.com/
http://laoisawc.com/

I have no skin in this game and am not particularily bothered about the outcome but I absolutely guarantee that it's not "entire communities forming protest groups". And in everyone of the groups you have listed above "the committee" is made up of cranks and people who have some sort of personal problem with the landowners involved.

I've just looked at those websites and I'm wrong in what i said in my last sentence it's just cranks in the cases listed above.