Scottish Government's take on Windfarm Impacts on Caithness Tourism.

[Rheghead]

What do you think of this webpage on the Scottish Government's website?

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/03/07113554/12

Read it and weep...


8.8 Conclusion
There is very extensive development planned in Caithness and Sutherland in areas where there is little natural protection and which most tourists will see. We estimate only 15% of tourists to Caithness and Sutherland will not see a wind farm at some stage.

However the number of tourists is small and consequently in absolute terms the loss of employment and income is small, certainly less than the full time jobs in the wind farm industry. We believe it will not exceed 30 jobs in total, probably less, considerably fewer than might be expected from the emerging renewables industry.

[bekisman]

Just had a quick look; bit biased? "
Finally holiday makers only constitute 75% of tourists as defined by VisitScotland. As a consequence it is estimated that only 60% of tourists will be affected."

And that's near 2,000,000 quid not staying up here: "The fall of 1.54% is equivalent to a fall of £1.8m in the Caithness and Sutherland Enterprise area."

[Rheghead]

Just had a quick look; bit biased? "
Finally holiday makers only constitute 75% of tourists as defined by VisitScotland. As a consequence it is estimated that only 60% of tourists will be affected."

And that's near 2,000,000 quid not staying up here: "The fall of 1.54% is equivalent to a fall of £1.8m in the Caithness and Sutherland Enterprise area."

I suppose that is the price to pay for not already having a fully promoted Tourist industry in place, a legacy of relying too heavily on Dounreay I'd imagine.

[The Pepsi Challenge]

As said several times before, Caithness has been written off to wind-farms. Stroma will be next.

[Sage]

It's a total disgrace....Caithness is the forgotten county and we obviously dont matter.

I've put this link up on my Twitter account. :(

[MadPict]

Yeah, but just imagine how good you'll all feel knowing you're generating all that wind power for the folk doon south.......


"Caithness - Powering The Big Cities"

[Rheghead]

Yeah, but just imagine how good you'll all feel knowing you're generating all that wind power for the folk doon south.......


"Caithness - Powering The Big Cities"

It's not as if we don't feel the need to repay the debt of gratitude.

[Kenn]

I was amazed by the condescension shown in the report.
ONLY 60% of motorists will see the wind farms!
Over 1 million pound could be lost to the local economy!
As a frequent visitor and would be resident I cannot understand why such a plethora of wind farms should be granted permission in an area that attracts most people because of it's wildness and stunning beauty.Whilst I appreciate that we need to use re-newable energy, surely it should be balanced against the environment and not destroy it.
Wonder where the local councillors and MPs stand on this one?

[Rheghead]

I see that the only major party at the next General Election that prohibits the proliferation of wind farms is UKIP.

Put your vote where your mouths are. Save Caithness, vote UKIP.

[MadPict]

...an area that attracts most people because of it's wildness and stunning beauty.


Comes a poor second to the almighty £.

The greed of the wind factory developers and those 'locals' only too happy to pocket the 'green pound', and those lobbyists who distort the truth, all in the illusion that it is going to make one iota of a difference to the problem of GW, will ensure that Caithness, and other places of outstanding beauty, will become barren expanses of concrete plinths, access roads and spires of steel topped with ever so lovely flashing and humming blades.

But never you mind, a good proportion of visitors will get to see what ruined Caithness......[disgust]

[Rheghead]

and those lobbyists who distort the truth, all in the illusion that it is going to make one iota of a difference to the problem of GW

Distortion? Which is that then?

I think if the level of existing wind farm applications in Caithness are approved and are extrapolated across the rest of the world we will curb global warming. The rest of the world are watching what happens here so we are at the battle front against climate change.

[MadPict]

The rate they are sprouting up it'll look like rest of the world plonked their wind factories in Caithness.....

Oh, how my tongue in cheek prediction looks ever more likely to actually become a reality.......

http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/1305/screenshot4copydf5.gif

[TBH]

I always think that Caithness is just an inconvenience on the way to Orkney, for most tourists.

[Rheghead]

Oh, how my tongue in cheek prediction looks ever more likely to actually become a reality.......


They'll aim high and we'll knock them back to a unrealistic figure.

[Foxy]

Comes a poor second to the almighty £.

The greed of the wind factory developers and those 'locals' only too happy to pocket the 'green pound'


But i thought it was money that made the world go round not just windmills. :eek:

[David Banks]

But our tourism should increase surely! W'ell have the only windmills that glow in the dark. Now, if we just wait for sunspots and the associated aurura to return, we'll have quite a nightly show - the tourists will flock here.

[Tubthumper]

But our tourism should increase surely! W'ell have the only windmills that glow in the dark. Now, if we just wait for sunspots and the associated aurura to return, we'll have quite a nightly show - the tourists will flock here.
I don't quite follow you, are they using some kind of luminous paint on the windmills these days? I must admit I hadn't noticed

[David Banks]

I don't quite follow you, are they using some kind of luminous paint on the windmills these days? I must admit I hadn't noticed

I'm just showing my age by referring to the still contaminated site of Dounreay and its environs.

[rupert]

I just wonder if all of the people in Caithness actually making a living from tourism know about this report. It seems to me that the report thinks a handful of windfarm workers and their windfarms are much more important than the livelihoods of our B&B/Hotel/Guesthouse owners.

Let's face it, that crowd down there running the show don't give a jot about this area. The only use we have is for building wind farms so they don't have to have them.

[MadPict]

Oh don't be so negative - there was a report on Newsnight last night (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/8070870.stm) about a town in Texas called Sweetwater which has gone from pumping oil out of the ground to having the biggest windfarm in the US (and the world maybe?) on their doorstep. The population of the town was dwindling then along came wind power and now the town is back up to its original population.

The owners make no bones about it - they are in wind energy for the money.
2,500 wind turbines now sprout from the land to the south of the town -

Google Map (http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=sweetwater+texas&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=22.96309,39.243164&ie=UTF8&cd=1&ll=32.29671,-100.388603&spn=0.255383,0.43705&t=h&z=12&iwloc=A)

It's even made an oil billionaire change his tune...
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/05/19/pickens.qa/index.html


http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/23/business/23wind.html

Thing is - wind energy accounts for 1% of all the energy generated in the US. But the US is increasing it's energy consumption by 1% every year and is expected to do so for the next couple of decades. So unless the people cut down on their energy use, all the windfarms are going to do is line a few peoples pockets...

Sounds familiar....

[Tubthumper]

I'm just showing my age by referring to the still contaminated site of Dounreay and its environs.
Does the radioactivity go luminous then? I can't say I've noticed it at all, anywhere in particular one can go to see this phenomenon? And could it be a selling point for tourists??