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U-Know! Forum » Wind Farm to be placed at 'Ancient' Site |
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necropolist 1689 posts |
Jun 05, 2003, 21:15
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As nicked from elsewhere, should possibly be in TMA, but I never go in there: I have recently heard some news about a site which is sacred for some, and part of the Welsh Heritage is under threat due to proposed development - of Windfarms near Maesteg (South Wales) Twmpath y Diwlith is traditionally associated with the Druids, and Iolo Morgannwg. There are other historical sites in the vicinity, many of them (such as old forts) have never been properly excavated so the proposal will destroy history before is it descovered. Community Wind Power has plans to erect a number of wind turbines one of the 300-foot turbines will be placed within Four Feet of the site. However, the company claims this placement will not affect the site. A 300 foot turbine needs a large foundation so this is unlikely. CADW http://www.cadw.wales.gov.uk/ is opposing the plans. There is a public enquiry on 1 July, but it is now too late for those opposed to the plans to voice their concerns by letter or email. Only the developer, the council and "interested parties" (such as the Rambler's Association) may discuss the issue, with the former two being given three days and the latter, three hours. " My opinion has to be, fuck the druids. bloody recently made up order anyway, i strongly doubt any claims they make as to any sites ancientness
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PaulMakesMusic 951 posts |
Jun 06, 2003, 05:17
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I reckon they should send Tony Robinson in. He'd get the place sorted in no time. I'd imagine that this could cause divided loyalties for some HH'ers. I suppose the obvious answer is to excavate and catalogue the site before the construction begins. Wouldn't that please everybody?
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FourWinds 10943 posts |
Jun 06, 2003, 06:23
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Well, the druids as we know them today are made up, but good old Julius Caeser and Claudius cetainly wrote of them, so they ain't exactly recent. I agree though. When it comes to doing a bit for the planet or a bit for site preservation the planet comes first. Excavate the site *properly* and get on with it. They can stick a wind turbine on top of Newgrange any day.
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Kammer 3083 posts |
Jun 06, 2003, 09:51
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It's not the windfarms that do the damage, but the heavy duty access roads and cable infrastructures that are needed to join each installation. This digging tends to mess things up in archaeological terms, but also has an effect on the hydrology of the surrounding area. Don't get me wrong, I'm pro-wind power, but if this farm is in an archeologically sensitive area it *will* destroy sites and finds. Kammer x
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Telepathine 371 posts |
Jun 06, 2003, 11:09
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I was led to believe that 'developers' had to allow time for excavations and surveys when building in 'sensitive' areas by law (though this may differ in Wales, not sure). In some cases they are expected to foot the bill, or part of for the cost of the surveys/excavation, so it may not be a total disaster. Frances Lynch seems to think the 'druids' were not a country wide 'doctrine/theology', but differed in belief and practice, being primarily a 'local' thang. I guess the druids who 'oppose' the wind turbine are of the new 'hello, I'm King Arthur' ilk. Not knowing much about the site i can't comment further. Though in a 'planet v.s history' bent, you can't preserve 'everything', and sometimes you gotta move forward for the common good.
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stray 2057 posts |
Jun 06, 2003, 11:49
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Yep. Modern druids *sigh*, what are they like ? Excavation though is against the current trend, think its called 'cover and conserve' or something. Joanna will know.
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Kammer 3083 posts |
Jun 06, 2003, 12:09
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I'm not advocating their perspective, but this photo on the Country Guardian Web site illustrates how much damage a wind turbine foundation can do: http://www.countryguardian.net/ I guess that any prehistoric site in the way of one of these holes will be excavated, whether it's by archaeologists or a ruddy great big digger. :-)# Kammer x
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Kammer 3083 posts |
Jun 06, 2003, 12:14
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Any chance of a grid reference, or some more information on this? I'm having a pig of a time tracking it down. What was the original source of the article? Kammer x
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grufty jim 1978 posts |
Jun 06, 2003, 13:00
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Thing is; just compare the damage done by a wind-turbine foundation (a 60ft x 60ft x 35ft hole in the ground) with the damage done by any other power generation system. There's no real contest... even solar is more environmentally destructive when you factor in the energy-costs of the panels. Sure there are the access roads and transformer / cable infrastructure; but they're common for all forms of power generation (indeed the access roads for - say - a coal-powered station, are going to be much bigger and much busier and potentially filled with massive trucks hauling coal for 18 hours a day). There's no question that wind farms should be built with care and respect for the land; but any delay in rolling out wind energy is ultimately hugely disrespectful towards the environment.
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Kammer 3083 posts |
Jun 06, 2003, 14:33
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Hi Grufty, > There's no question that wind farms should > be built with care and respect for the land... I totally agree. Each case has to be looked at on its own merits. That's one of the reasons why the whole anti-windfarm lobby is so stupid. There's a definite NIMBY thing going on, especially here in Wales. > ...but any delay in rolling out wind energy > is ultimately hugely disrespectful towards > the environment. Yes, this is true, but only just. The success of windfarms in the UK is entirely down to chance, and it's powered by greed rather than environmental conscience. The goverment wanted the nuclear industry to be more appealling to the private sector, so they set up financial incentives for 'clean' electricity generation (I know, it makes no sense but it's true). That's how wind power became financially viable here. The UK has severely under funded research into alternative energy, but luckily other countries have done all the hard work with wind power. Hence, a quick buck can be made by the power companies on wind generation. The real hidden resource for the UK is wave power, but dear old Mrs T cut back so severely on funding for research in this area, that it's not yet commercially viable. The other countries that the UK depended on for their wind power research don't have the same wave power potential, so we're up shit creek as far as pinching their technology goes. What I'm trying to say is, wind power is just pissing in the wind as far as green electricity consumption goes. Real money needs to be invested in wave power, but it just ain't going to happen. I live less than half a mile away from a small wind farm. That's about as close as anyone in the UK! I love it, and it causes me no significant problems in terms of noise pollution, tv signal etc. All I'm saying is, we have wind power in the UK by chance, and it's being selectively invested in for profit. Where there's no significant profit for the power companies, or a big population of potential NIMBY voters (such as in Norfolk or Cambridgeshire) nothing happens. It's all a pile of crap, but I'll grant you, some good comes out of it. Now I'm really depressed. Kammer x
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