Monday, May 5, 2014

Heritage Sites Vs. Wind Turbines



A growing trend to increase UK's dependency on wind energy has led to a precedent in terms of building turbines near historic sites. The company Barnwell Manor Wind Energy wants to build four 400ft-high turbines on the grounds belonging to the Duke of Gloucester in Northamptonshire, the site of a historic Elizabethan house. Ruling in favor of the company could lead to hundreds of turbines being built around the country near similar sites.

The case can be viewed as a probe for actually how much protection does national heritage have against the industry. The power company is represented by the Labour leader's wife and advised by some well-known environmental lawyers. As of the end of March it seems that both the High Court and the Court of Appeal have decided against the company, to the relief of many environmental activists.

The fight being over for now, there will probably not be many more cases like this one. Countering the tendency to cover wide areas with wind farms are the economic advantages of going offshore due to the coming wave of tax regulations, which could render onshore wind turbines not viable economically. There were also many protests against the planned and projected investments, with people fearing they would drastically alter the traditional British landscape. One of the more vivid signs of protest being a small blimp suspended at the approximate height of a turbine blade to visualize the impact.

There was a widespread wave of concerns among activists and ordinary people, that the courts might actually take the side of the wind-power industry given its huge amount of pro-environmental hype, but it seems the more conservative Britons - and one could argue there are many of them among judges and lawyers - are serious about protecting their heritage.


About Stanford Magnets.
Based in California, Stanford Magnets has been involved in the R&D and sales of licensed Rare-earth magnets, Neodymium magnets and SmCo magnets, ceramic magnets, flexible magnets and magnetic assemblies since the mid of 1980s. We supply all these types of magnets in a wide range of shapes, sizes and grades.

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