We are looking at turbines in the region of 125m to blade tip.  The height to the top of the tower or the 'hub' is 80m and the rotor diameter we have assumed in the Environmental Impact Assessment is 93m.

We are proposing to erect four turbines on the site.

The proposed towers are tapered, tubular and made of steel, painted white or light grey. The blades are made of fibreglass-reinforced epoxy. Turbines are usually light grey because this is the colour which is most inconspicuous under most lighting conditions. The finish is matt, to reduce reflected light.

Wind turbines start operating in only a gentle breeze and reach maximum power output after 12 meters/second (around 27 miles per hour). At wind speeds of about 60 miles per hour the wind turbines choose to shut down to avoid damage.

Windfarms normally receive planning permission for 25 years, and after this we would need to re-apply for planning permission, or decommission the site and return the land it to its former state. Any consent will certainly contain decommissioning requirements which usually require all visible traces of the windfarm to be removed.

No. Onshore wind energy is actually one of the cheapest of the renewable energy technologies. Wind power can now produce electricity at a cheaper price than nuclear power in the UK and, depending on the oil price, cheaper than fossil fuels. Energy from the wind will become even cheaper in the future as the technology develops. The fuel will remain free.

An average for a new onshore windfarm in a good location is 3-4 pence per unit, competitive with new coal (2.5-4.5p) and cheaper than new nuclear (4-7p) (source: BWEA). Studies from Germany, Denmark and Spain also show that wind power helps to bring the wholesale price of electricity down in the long term because the running costs are close to zero.

In 2000 the Government set a target of 10% of electricity supply from renewable energy by 2010, and in 2006 announced their aspiration to double that level by 2020 (source: BERR). In 2007, only 5% of the UK's electricity supply came from renewable sources, so we still have a long way to go.

We need to become more energy efficient and reduce our energy consumption, but however much we improve this we will still need to generate electricity. It is important that this electricity is generated from a sustainable source and wind energy is the most proven of all renewable energy technologies.

The development of a windfarm will change the landscape of the area, but this is not necessarily a negative change. This ultimately depends on your personal opinion of the turbines and your acceptance of them as providers of green electricity. We work with professional Landscape Consultants to limit the visual interference from wind turbines.

A landscape and visual assessment of proposed developments will examine the impact of the proposed windfarm on the character of the landscape. Photomontages will be prepared from key views to show how the wind turbines would look in the landscape. Register and we will let you know when these have been added to the website.

It is possible to stand underneath a turbine and hold a conversation without having to raise your voice. The evolution of windfarm technology over the past decade means that mechanical noise from turbines is almost undetectable, with the main sound being the aerodynamic swoosh of the blades passing the tower; noise levels from windfarms are on a par with rural background noise. Turbine blades rotate faster when the wind speed is high, and any increase in noise from the turbines would be masked by the increase in background noise (the sound of the wind blowing, trees rustling, etc).

It should also be noted that the method of predicting noise levels assumes an absolute worst case scenario (i.e. the noise from all of the turbines being blown towards all of the monitoring points simultaneously, all of the time), a situation which is unlikely to ever occur.

Any planning permission for a windfarm would contain a planning condition to ensure that noise levels are controlled to an acceptable level.

Well sited windfarms do not pose a significant threat to birds. To date, there have been no major adverse effects on birds associated with windfarms in the UK. An article in the journal ‘Nature' reminds us that the greatest threat to wildlife in the UK is climate change; the RSPB predicts that without a comprehensive network of renewable energy sources, climate change is predicted to detrimentally affect most species within the UK.

Wind farming is popular with farmers, because their land can continue to be used for growing crops or grazing livestock. Sheep, cows and horses are not disturbed by wind turbines. The first windfarm built in the UK, Delabole, has a stud farm and riding school, and the farmer, Peter Edwards, often rides around the windfarm on his horse.

Wind energy is one of the safest energy technologies and does not produce any emissions, harmful pollutants or waste products. As far as we are aware, no member of the public has ever been injured during the normal operation of a wind turbine, with over 25 years operating experience and with more than 70,000 machines installed around the world.

There is no evidence to suggest that windfarms have a negative effect on tourism. In fact, the opposite is often found to be the case and many developers are asked to provide a visitor centre, viewing platforms and rights of way to their sites. A MORI poll in Scotland carried out in 2002 showed that 80% of tourists would be interested in visiting a windfarm. The UK's first commercial windfarm at Delabole received 350,000 visitors in the first ten years. The turbine at Swaffham in Norfolk enjoys 10,000 visitors a year.

Unfortunately this is not possible. Electricity supply is a regulated industry and current legislation prevents this. Due to the design of the national electrical distribution system it is more efficient for the turbines to be connected into the exisiting grid network, where it will be mixed in with electricity produced by a variety of power generation sources, such as gas and coal fired power stations.

Local opposition to proposed windfarms usually arises because some people perceive that the development will spoil the landscape that they are used to. Most of the other criticisms made about wind energy today are exaggerated or untrue, and simply reflect attempts to discredit the technology, worry local communities and turn them against renewable energy schemes. Anti-wind groups have able to create highly emotive and divisive reaction in local communities, where sensible discussion of the issues is sometimes forgotten.

Wind energy is one of the most popular energy technologies. Opinion surveys regularly show that just over eight out of ten people are in favour of wind energy, and less than one in ten (around 5%) are against it.

The grid has to be monitored to keep supply and demand in balance and some standby capacity has to be kept in reserve in case of sudden power generation losses.

On the occasion when the wind does stop blowing, electricity continues to be provided by other forms of generation, such as gas, coal, nuclear and hydro. Our electricity system is very flexible, and is capable of coping with variations in demand and unexpected shutting down of large power stations, many times the size of a windfarm.

The average windfarm in the UK will pay back the energy used in its manufacture within six to eight months. Over its lifetime a wind turbine will produce over 30 times more energy than was used in its manufacture.

Nuclear fission's payback period is two and a half years, coal power 3.3 years and biomass between two and three years (UK Government, 2004). The payback time for solar photovoltaic systems is between four and nine years depending on location and efficiency (Strathclyde University, 1999).

Windfarms do not emit carbon dioxide and provide clean and renewable energy, unlike power stations, which emit 170 million tonnes of CO2 each year. If we are to meet government targets of cutting these figures 60% by 2050, we need a source of energy that does not produce carbon dioxide.

The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors have undertaken studies to assess if there is an affect on the house prices due to the construction of a windfarm. In general the survey shows that the largest drop in house value is at the time of the planning application as is the case with any major development.

The house prices appear to recover after the windfarm has been constructed. Detached houses have been shown to have the most immunity to a decrease in house price.

This survey can be read at the link below:

http://www.rics.org/site/scripts/download_info.aspx?downloadID=3171

In extremely rare circumstances, some interference to analogue TV reception is possible. The main causes of problems are weak signals that are being received by old or poorly tuned aerials. However this is normally identified pre-construction and can be easily remedied. It should also be remembered that the UK is switching to a digital television signal at present (2009 to 2012), which means that satellite TV, Sky or free-to-air satellite signals from the BBC or ITV are totally unaffected by windfarms as the signal is beamed down from space by satellite.

In the UK, wind turbines produce useful power for 70-85% of the time. Measured in terms of mechanical efficiency, a wind turbine is over 40% efficient compared to a coal fired power station at about 38% and a typical internal combustion engine at 20-25%.

No, there is no law that states this.  Scottish Planning Policy 6 (SPP6) Annex A provides guidance to be considered in to the formation of planning policy and broad areas of search for onshore windfarm developments over 20MWs in size. The extract reads:

"Broad criteria should be used to set out the considerations that developers should address in relation to local communities. These should ensure that proposal are not permitted if they would have a significant long term detrimental impact on the amenity of people living nearby.  When considering spatial policies, planning authorities may consider it helpful to introduce zones around communities as a means of guiding developments to broad areas of search where visual impacts are likely to be less of a constraint. PAN 45 confirms that development of up to 2km is likely to be a prominent feature in an open landscape. The Scottish Ministers would support this as a separation distance between turbines and the edge of cities, towns and villages so long as policies recognise that this approach is being adopted solely as a mechanism for steering proposals to broad areas of search and, within this distance, proposals will continue to be judged on a case-by-case basis."

It is also worth noting that there are operational windfarms in Scotland which have turbines within 2km of settlements/ individual properties.

The equivalent planning guidance document in England, Planning Policy Statement 22, does not refer to separation distances from settlements/properties. Obviously the noise and landscape assessment, specific to this site, will ultimately determine separation distances from properties.

Please address your letter to Jacqueline Jackson and Neil Thompson of Charnwood Borough Council at the address below.

Development Control
Charnwood Borough Council
Southfield Road
Loughborough
LE11 2TX
development.control@charnwood.gov.uk