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Anorak News | Britain opens wind farm in Iran – nuclear is dead

Britain opens wind farm in Iran – nuclear is dead

by | 8th, February 2012

THE Guardian features a story called “Every windfarm mapped – and the MPs who hate them”. There’s one in Iran. Can it turn the  spiritualists running that country off nuclear energy and on to wind?

Simon Rogers notes:

What difference do anti-windfarm MPs make? Conservative MPs have written to prime minister David Cameron demanding cuts to support for onshore windfarms and easier ways to block them through planning objections. We thought it would be interesting to show where those MPs are based – and where windfarms are either working, planned or in planning. This map is the result – what patterns do you think it shows?

The maps have been produced by:

The data for anti-windfarm MPs is from Darren Shirley of WWF, MySociety and the windfarm map is from RenewableUK.

What patterns? Well, none.

Guardian readers explain:

* Much as I support wind turbines, I wonder if you can also plot Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty on that map and see if theres a correlation?

* At what maps scale do the dots that represent the wind farms reasonably accurately reflect the land area that is covered by a wind farm?

* I find it hard to believe that the UK would have a wind farm in Iran

* Population data surrounding each turbine could be interesting. Could potentially use the census data from 2001 – I’m not sure of anything more detailed than that which is in the public domain.

* Oh look, there’s no Conservative MPs from Scotland complaining. 😉

* You have missed the 160-250 turbines under proposal just east of the needles in the Isle of wight.

* Well, it just goes to show that RenewablesUK is just about as reliable as the turbines it touts! We’re fighting a Scottish Power plan for a major 25 turbine wind farm, reaching a height of 145 metres, on the banks of the River Dee just outside Corwen. This area lies at the foothills of the Berwyn mountains, alongside a recently extended AONB and within clear view of Snowdonia National Park. It is also NOT in an area designated by the Welsh Assembly for large scale wind farms. So, is it on this map? NO.

* I can’t find the massive wind farm planned by Scottish Power on Mynydd Mynyllod just outside Corwen in the River Dee valley on the map. The scheme is for 25 turbines of 145 metres in height – amongst the largest in Britain. There are a number of other large proposed wind farms in the North Wales area which also don’t feature on the map.

Such are the facts on the Guardian’s datablog…



Posted: 8th, February 2012 | In: Reviews Comment | TrackBack | Permalink