View Full Version : Moray Firth windfarm
I just feel like giving up on conservation and being eco-friendly. I have long supported the efforts to protect the most northerly group of dolphins and now there is a project to build a 277 wind turbine obscenity in the sea off the east coast of Caithness. This is the year of promoting the flora and fauna of this great country but at every turn and twist we are blocked. Seals shot, raptors poisoned, deer culled etc, etc. Makes me despair.
orkneycadian
12-Jun-13, 10:12
In relation to the first part of your posting Lizz, will the dolphins be killed, maimed or otherwise inconvenienced by this proposal?
In relation to the second part, I doubt there are many of us on this planet who have not maliscously killed something. Whether it be a spider in the toilet bowl, flushed away to drown, a midge smeared to certain death on a forearm, for nothing more than following its instincts and feeding or a weed pulled out of a garden, because it detracts from the flowers.
Whilst some are happy to have their gardens waist high in dochans, the way nature intended, others feel the need to pull them up and burn then. So pretty much, whats one persons weed/pest is another persons flora/fauna.
Its easy to be selective about whats important to us - Fluffy bunnies are wonderful if you are a toonie on a visit to the country. They are not so wonderful if you are a farmer. Similarly, greylag geese are an impressive sight if you are a bird fanatic. But when they have torn your field of grass away to nothing, and there is nothing for your cattle to eat (the same cattle by the way that ultimately end up on the Tesco shelves to put dinner on the plates of the bird fanatics....)they are a bloody nuisance. Seals who break into, and steal fish from salmon cages are a similar bane to salmon farmers, despite being all cutey cutey when they are babies to some. Some of us have multiple standards - Some birdy folk want to cull predators that eat birds eggs. Hang on - Who has the most right to life on this planet? The bird or the bird egg eating predator? And should the decision be taken based upon the personal interests of people who favour one species over another?
Its a complex issue.
Complex indeed...... I have wrestled with my conscience many a time but I still use fly spray and have put down mousetraps years ago when living in a farm cottage. The blighters kept finding a way in but I absolutely loathed hearing the trap go off and the poor little thing wrestling to get out of it but I had a baby whose safety was my priority.
I just feel like giving up on conservation and being eco-friendly. I have long supported the efforts to protect the most northerly group of dolphins and now there is a project to build a 277 wind turbine obscenity in the sea off the east coast of Caithness. This is the year of promoting the flora and fauna of this great country but at every turn and twist we are blocked. Seals shot, raptors poisoned, deer culled etc, etc. Makes me despair.
I don't see your concern Lizz. I am also very concerned about the conservation of sea mammals off our coastline so what is the connection to wind farms?
offshore is the place for the turbines IMHO.
The problem I and others have Rheghead is with the disturbance to the seabed and the surrounding sea will have on the marine environment. Once these special creatures feel insecure they will leave and it is doubtful that they will return. You make some valid points orkneycadian but if we did n't put salmon cages in the sea the seals would not be tempted to break in. With regard to geese, yes I will admit to love seeing them in the landscape but equally I can sympathise with the farmer who sees his winter wheat/ grass decimated. I have proposed that farmers should be compensated as they are in The Western Isles and England but no one seems to be listening at Holyrood. My challenge is to the government of this country in the year that they are supposed to be promoting the native wild life not destroying it.
Is there proven evidence that offshore jackets scare away sea wildlife?What about the tidal devices that are planned also?
Offshore jackets? I was referring to the disturbance made by the installation of these turbines.
Offshore jackets? I was referring to the disturbance made be the installation of these turbines.Apologies, the subsea structure the turbine is secured to is called a jacket
No need to apologise, thanks for explaining.
ywindythesecond
13-Jun-13, 02:10
I just feel like giving up on conservation and being eco-friendly. I have long supported the efforts to protect the most northerly group of dolphins and now there is a project to build a 277 wind turbine obscenity in the sea off the east coast of Caithness. This is the year of promoting the flora and fauna of this great country but at every turn and twist we are blocked. Seals shot, raptors poisoned, deer culled etc, etc. Makes me despair.
There is no need to worry about it Lizz. There will surely have been a professional Environmental Impact Assessment carried out which will have considered all aspects of the development.s impact on the marine environment. Perhaps someone can provide a link to it?
Now why does that statement make me feel even more uneasy ywindy?
The problem I and others have Rheghead is with the disturbance to the seabed and the surrounding sea will have on the marine environment. Once these special creatures feel insecure they will leave and it is doubtful that they will return. You make some valid points orkneycadian but if we did n't put salmon cages in the sea the seals would not be tempted to break in. With regard to geese, yes I will admit to love seeing them in the landscape but equally I can sympathise with the farmer who sees his winter wheat/ grass decimated. I have proposed that farmers should be compensated as they are in The Western Isles and England but no one seems to be listening at Holyrood. My challenge is to the government of this country in the year that they are supposed to be promoting the native wild life not destroying it.
On the contrary, the disturbance is temporary, the last report I read about the impact that offshore wind farms had on marine life was that it encouraged life to blossom. The foundation piles provided a firm base for life to cling on to. I wouldn't be surprised if the Beatrice field wind farm became a sanctuary for sea mammals because of all the life that sprung up around the foundations.
We need to act upon evidence that is robust, not speculation and scaremongering. If you frame your concern to sea mammals because of wind turbines without evidence then you'll only gain support from anti wind protesters and overly sentimental save the whale types.
Perhaps I should have been more exact in what I was trying to explain Rheghead. I know that wrecks/ existing wind turbines and other structures placed in the sea are readily colonised by shellfish and other marine species in a relatively short time. Dolphins are a very different matter as they are mammals with super senses and exceptional hearing that works over a long distance and at frequencies well beyond human range. The concern is that the subsea work to install these will generate noise at a level or pitch that would disturb the cetaceans and drive them from the area.
Dolphins are a very different matter as they are mammals with super senses and exceptional hearing that works over a long distance and at frequencies well beyond human range. The concern is that the subsea work to install these will generate noise at a level or pitch that would disturb the cetaceans and drive them from the area.
Oh, I know what the concern is but as I said before the evidence for that concern has to be extremely robust, never speculation or scaremongering. There isn't a pitch of sound that cannot be picked up by modern instrumentation, so we know what these sounds are. There is no mystery in that particular field of research...
Why wind? I produce more lecky from solar. Why isn't Caithness covered in Solar farms? Surely less intrusive and with much less potential to damage the environment even if only in some peoples minds?
You could have them on floating platforms off the coast where they wouldn't be in shadow and would hardly be any disturbance to the sea bed.
Why wind? I produce more lecky from solar. Why isn't Caithness covered in Solar farms? Surely less intrusive and with much less potential to damage the environment even if only in some peoples minds?
Good question and very well asked.
We need both, there isn't a renewable energy source that can give us the same output as a conventional power station.
Good question and very well asked.
We need both, there isn't a renewable energy source that can give us the same output as a conventional power station.
So..why haven't we got both?
So..why haven't we got both?
Good question, well asked.
Show support for renewable energy. Write to your MP. Write to right wing papers. Show the world that people who see the bigger picture actually have a voice. MPs listen to that sort of thing.
Wish they did Rheghead some of the correspondence between myself and our local SMP would make any cream go sour! He aspires to be green by hugging moss at Forsinard and then votes for wind farms on The Flow Country !
neilsermk1
14-Jun-13, 12:32
So..why haven't we got both?
Hallelujah (if thats how you spell it) Ducati you speak of this mythical thing called an integrated energy policy, which is a thing of mystery to wee eck and his windy pals.
Sorry Lizz but there is far more than just Beatrice because the 3 Moray Firth windfarms are adjacent to Beatrice making a total of around 600 turbines (they're a bit vague about numbers). It's been mentioned as a possible Special Area of Conservation for the mammals but don't suppose that will happen now. Even the developers admit damage to marine mammals during construction and the vibrations later will always cause disturbance. Whether they will return after construction remains to be seen. It's all one big expensive experiment. Don't envy maintenance workers.
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