Wind turbines

Do you love ‘em or hate ‘em? Wind turbines, that is.

The two pictured here are within a reasonable distance of our home in Leicestershire. They are “private” turbines in that they have been erected by a local farmer in a bid to generate electricity for his own purposes and sell any excess to the National Grid. They are also, as you can see, two-bladed turbines and not the massive three-bladed ones that are seen more often in the UK countryside.

People seem to get very worked up about having wind turbines in their area, calling them eyesores that ruin the landscape.

Personally, I do not share that response. I look upon turbines as being majestic edifices that add to the scene rather than detract from it. I would far rather have a cluster of turbines on top of a hill than a nuclear power station any day!

I am also mindful of the fact that turbines are generating much-needed clean energy and avoiding the need to dig yet more coal and other fossil fuels out of the ground and release masses of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere when it is burned. 

The largest turbines, such as those found in huge wind farms out at sea, provide enough energy from a single complete turn to power an average family home for a day.

They have been blamed for being a danger to birds, and there is some truth in this. However, work has been done to minimise the problem – one ingenious solution has been to paint one complete sail black, and this has been shown to have a noticeable effect in reducing the casualty rate. 

This area of Leicestershire was once thick with coalmines with their winding gear and slagheaps adorning the view in all directions. From a purely scenic perspective, I’ll take the wind turbines in preference any day!

© John Welford