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jacqueline rideout
I live in Wales where more than 20 groups are fighting applications from windturbine developers all across the country. Many of the groups have an enormous amount of current data from official government sources across europe which contradicts the developers claims. Developers are using out of date facts and figures and certainly making exaggerated claims. I urge all the media to get the DTI data. Independent Engineering Data and current data from Denmark and Germany (often held up as a success)to inform the local debate. The people who oppose are concerned for the future and for the so called green movement to accuse us otherwise is unwarranted. We do not want to be hijacked by the green agenda. The industry will not be able to DELIVER their claims. Energy is a very important issue for everyone and the public is well able to assess and vote if given all the truthful facts not just the hype. Please please please get all the facts so the debate can be properly argued. Thanks for the chance to have a say. Good luck to the opposition. Consume less then more will go a long long way.

Janet
Has anyone thought about the poor birds that are going to get chopped to pieces by these giant windmills? The heat genetrated attracts insects which attract birds. They are also known for breaking down easily and being completely useless when there is no wind. The sheer amount of windmills that would be required as well as the size (each is as tall as the Forth Road Bridge) makes them a poor source for energy. Also, they are completely unnecessary. A few nuclear power stations would suffice. It is well known that coal fired power stations emit far more radioactivity than Nuclear stations, and that all comes out of a chimmney. Nuclear waste is carefully deposited underground to keep people safe. I think we should follow France and take the real environmentally friendly option, Nuclear Power.

me
they are white to be more subtle,to match the cloudy sky?i thought that was obvious.

matthew s-m
i like the idea of having wind power becuase it gets realy hot during the summer.

Mohammad Sahrie
I think that an idea of haveing wind power in Britian is an great idea and it would be useful in the future.

John H
David Bellamy is probably more of an expert than the rest of us put together. He says 1. It takes more energy to build a wind generator than it ever produces in its lifetime. 2. If the government spent £1000 on every home in the uk, insulating it & installing an energy efficient C/H boiler for free, it would cost less than all the current wind power schemes put together. 3. You still need another form of energy generation to provide power when there isn't enough wind to power the wind generators. I tend to believe him! Anyway, if we have to have them, why do we paint them white? Can't they be more subtle?

David Johnson
Inefficient, ugly, despoiling of beautiful places - of which few are left. Offshore wind and/or wave is more reliable, more constant, less damaging. What hand-outs are pushing such a poor case?

Gerth Nalogion
wind power, is great! what would you prefer, a nuck power station or a wind farm??? I know what i would choose

Robert Battersby
You won't be able to see the wind turbines on the moors for the Pylons: Rather like those who object to wind power who can't see the wood for the trees!

Alex
I dont understand why people think these wind farms are "Monsters." I think there rather nice looking. Besdies that im deffinatly in favour of reducing CO2 and global warming, As should you all. I think these objectors are people with nothing better to complain about.

Chris W
Why not cover the Wind Turbines in solar panels as well?

William Stack
They provide clean energy think about it, I bet those that are complaing have not been near the moors for years. They ar fairly quiet running now, and they will get quieter in future. I am all in favour of cutting polution. Bill, Rochdale

Fred Bloggs
Hi Let us have more wind turbines both small scale in out back yards and on the top of hills. The hills around the Goyt valley are ideal and I bet there is planning permission available.

ColinTaylor
Whilst i agree with the use of wind turbines and farms like this i think that the locality of this project may disrupt the natural beauty of the landscape which HAS to be a very inportant consideration in any application for these types of projects.

Sid Slater
Wind Farms are a very unfortunate product of our quest for a comfortable life style.I do not like them the same way that I do not like traffic jams,I just have to endure them.

Henry
Hey,what the hell is going on?It's like one thing leads to another.Okay they are now talking about wind power.Give me a brake please!

Stephen Summerfield
I'm no environmentalist but Fossil fuels are diminishing and Nuclear power is dangerous and at times disastrous. It is sad that the moors of Rochdale have been earmarked for a windfarm but what would the locals rather have wind turbines generating fuel free "green" electricity or a big nuclear power generating plant and all the dangers associated with it (such as 30kg of missing Weapons grade Plutonium). I agree with the comments that we should be conserving energy or looking at more efficient ways of producing it but demand is continually growing and that will never stop as the world becomes more reliant on automated systems that are run by computers etc. Putting up wind turbines may not look pretty through some peoples eyes but in the long run it will be much kinder to the environment and will become more of a common site everywhere over the next decade or so on top of which most of the people complaining about them being put up will forget that thay even exist when they are sat by their electric fires or heaters with a nice cup of tea from their electric kettles whilst watching their electric televisions come the middle of winter! Welcome to 2005.

Gerard Hughes
I think wind farms are very beautiful, we need more off shore ones, so peolple who whinge about them can't complain..... too much.We need susatinable, renewable energy, and fast. we as a nation can not keep on burning coal/oil etc, and then complain about our changing weather!!

Roma Livingstone
I think wind farms are very beautiful. they have become much quieter and will continue to do so. They provide clean energy. You show an "unspoilt" picture of Scout Moor with a house right in the middle so it is not really "unspoilt". We need houses and we need energy. We do not need "global warming".

Nick
We have no right to cause irreversible damage to the environment by placing these monsters across our unique landscape. We should be saving energy not looking at more ways to produce it. All new buildings should include solar capability and energy conservation methods. A report produced by Germany who are way ahead of the UK proves wind farms are not the answer we hoped.

Ian
Marissa - you said "Instead of monsterous powerplants that pollute our land we should embrace this form of energy production", but no amount of wind turbines will get rid of our fossil-fuelled plants. Do some research and you will see that even if we maged to get enough power from these windmills, we would still have to keep ALL our conventional plants intact AND RUNNING to fill in the times when the turbines are not turning. Not very green, I'm sure you will agree.

John Patrick
Irrespective of whether they are environmental way of producing electricity, the decision to build these 'farms' should be made by the local people, who will have to put up with them. They can make quite a noise, and there are many reports of people being driven crazy by these things.

Marissa Stuart
I love windfarms. How lucky that we have the knowledge and skills to develop a green energy source that is also a stunning pieceof architecture. Instead of monsterous powerplants that pollute our land we should embrace this form of energy production and think about the long-term future of our environment not the short-term change to our landscape.

Jez
I've just had a salesman show me a solar heating system that could potentially save me 70% of my gas bill a year, with the associated reduction in CO2 emitted when the gas is burned. Not electric, water is simply heated by solar collectors on the roof. I had to say no though because the price was £6500. I'd rather that the Government spent £50+ million on these and fitted them to 7000+ houses. I bet that would save more C02 than the wind farm - Oh silly me - once the system is fitted the heating then becomes free and I don't pay all that VAT on the gas and electric that I do now!

Stephen Owen
Build it. Those people who complain about it ruining the moors, I wonder when the last time they went to this specific spot was, i'd wager the last time they visited was a long time before the scheme was announced (if ever). I mean come on, its not like they are sticking one in the middle of a 16th century church or anything?

Val Mainwaring
I live in Cornwall and we have them there and they are beautiful. So majestic and tranquil, very calming and artistic. Lovely. Beautiful during a sunset.

Peter
Nuclear Power provides the only answer - the French have done it and we will be buying our power from them over the next few years. One Modern Nuclear station provides the power of at least 1000 windmills and that is assuming that the wind is blowing. Nuclear is clean power and as for the waste; return it to the ground from whence it came.

Andy
Wind farms might be 'green', Pedro, but they don't make much electricity! We would need to cover the entire UK with turbines to generate enough power, and even then we would have to keep our old fossil-fuelled stations running for wind-less periods. Actually, they are not green at all!

Carl Pritchard
Why not put propellor blades on top of mobile phone masts? They are hideous eyesores and I don't hear many people complaining about that.

Bryan Morris
Electricity is an expensive form of energy. It always requires conversion from 1 form of energy to another with consequent costs and losses. Is there an Engineer out there who can explain the benefits of producing electricity from Liquid Petroleum Gas and creating an enormous infrastucture so that trains can run on electricity? Surely trains could be fitted with LPG burning engines. Nothing against wind farms but would like to understand the logic and cost benefit of buiding them and indeed why we use so much electricity when there are other options.

Pedro Alves
I'm against! We should continue to pollute as much as possible! Let's increase the greenhouse effect until we are able to get weather similar to Sahara! Yes to coal thermo electrical plants! I’m being ironical of course! People are really… They want the services but not their driving force! Where do they think electricity comes from? It appears by magic? Miracle? Is it generated when there are discussions in the House of Commons? If you want energy you must transform it in a way that you can use it! Wind farms are fantastic ecofriendly ways of doing so!

Chris C
This is just another case of NIMBYism yet again. I live in Rochdale and to say that these moors are untouched is a joke, if you don't beleve me then just take a walk up there. The area was heavily mined up until about eighty years ago and towards the back of the moor on the Whitworth side it still is. There is another one of these wind farms between Todmorden and Burnley, from a distance I think it looks great, and lets be honest thats where most of us would be looking at it from. We only have one planet, lets make the best of it!

Louise Hey
Ok we need green engery. People are going to think this is the 'not in my back yard' attitude. I don't think they should be built on the moors. This is a unique vegetation with only a few peat moors left in the UK. It needs to be projected for nature, and historic reasons. Conserve our natural wildlife of the area. Why not build the farms out at sea? there are plenty of other chocies.

Phil
Do the maths folks - to replicate the output from a single conventional power station needs wind-turbines covering the vast majority of Cumbria ! Plus, the energy taken to build one of these is almost never returned in generated output. QED I'd say ! Its all about politics and nothing to do with saving our environment.

Jacqueline
I think we should wind all over the countryside where is enough wind to make them excellent source of energy.

Paul Clegg
Why not kill too birds with one stone and build turbines onto the back of pylons.

Routemartin
Thank you jez!!! Most people feel good about wind farms because it gives them an excuse to carry on wasting energy. Removing VAT from insulation products would be a start but G. Brown wouldn't like that! I would just like to know the true facts. How many years does a wind farm take to pay back the energy consumed in planning, constructing and running them?

Jez
Wind Turbines may be a good idea in principle but it doesn't take much investigation to see that they are inefficient and a waste of money and precious moorland. What about the energy expended in their construction? Transport of parts, production of tons and tons of concrete etc means that these things won't really make much overall diffrence to the CO2 emissions. What about exploring all other avenues, such as solar, making houses more energy efficient, paying more for less energy efiicient electric goods etc. All should be looked at before our moors are irreparably damaged. And it's all money into Peel Holding's pockets -£50+ million isn't it????

Martin Molloy
Yes Jean I mentioned that property would fall (are you sure you read all the cooments?)

David
People should realise that having a few wind turbines on a hill "polluting the view" is a lot better than a fossil fuel based power plant polluting the atmosphere.

Chris Hopkinson
As a person who spends a fair amount on Scout moor and the surrounding moorland both cycling and walking I am more than happy to take take the non NIMBY approach and look forward to seeing these turbines in place.We need more sustainable energy sources urgently. To the people who say they dont produce enough electricity I say this underlines the need to build more !

Jude
Which is more important...fallig property prices or a furtner step towards ensuring a) we don't run out of fuel in 20 years and b) there'll be a planet Earth around in 1000 years. We need these wind farms and we need them NOW.

jean
the above comments do not mention that property house values will fall, also the noise created by these turbines and obviously the mori poll is nationwide not just the area affected and all these turbines will not supply that much electricity

vhej
It's about time more were put in place. If we're going to use electricity we have to find as many renewable & ethical ways of producing the stuff. Some might not like the look of them but they are harking back to some less developed age where we either didn't have electricity or we weren't aware of the true cost envoronmentally. Our landscapes change all the time anyway @ least these changes will be for the better (if carried out carefully & correctly).

Chris Brown
Whats the problem with wind turbines? People want more and more power to waste on their 1KW hair dryers, when most paint strippers are only 500W. Obviously fossil fuel is unacceptable to the public, and so is nuclear power. Whats left, fusion, solar and wave. All of which still need to be developed before they can offer serious competition to the old electricity solutions. Wind power is great, and should be implimented everywhere. I personally wouldn't mind being told to have my own personal wind turbine in my back garden.

Jim Bowery
If other polluting unsustainable forms of electricity generation were priced to include their real costs, then all these free-market/economically unviable arguments would go out of the window - where they belong. If wind turbines aren't OK, how could power stations near someone else's home, mines, drilling stations or nuclear dumps far away possibly be OK!? It's just another case of people not taking responsibility for their own consumption, and the impact it has on the world.

Matt Pilky
Fantastic, we need to be implementing renewable sources of energy now, not 20 years down the line when we have irrepairably damaged the earth

Brian
We have mobile phone masts springing up everywhere, miles and miles of electricity pylons and cables, not to mention miles of motorway and other roads, yet wind turbines are the eyesore? Just build them next to motorways like J37 of the M6. No problem.

Peter Partington
Fact - wind turbines are hugely inefficient at generating electricity. Hence many are required to be of any real benefit. How green is the technology that is used to produce them? These are not the answer to the U.Ks energy problems and the fact that we are reliant on energy imported from abroad. They cant run in high wind or low wind and when the sun shines through the blades the strobe effect on those living in the shadows is nauseating - literaly. No, I dont live near a proposed site these are just facts. The issue of whether they are an "eyesore" is not relevent they are plain ineffecient. One good plus point is for farmers - they create a better return financially and are less trouble than sheep!

Joanne Bentley
A brilliant idea, the more green energy we have the better. As far as the 'ugly' arguments go, I'd say a coal fired power station is far worse to look at. We need more energy, that is indesputable, but what would you prefer to have outside your window? Give me the turbines any day.

Martin Molloy
I wish these NIMBY's would see the bigger picture than losing value on their property or having "an eyesore near them". Windfarms are an investment in the future of the planet (and no I am not a greenie, vegatarian, or eco-warrior before anyone asks.) If global warming increases due to the continuous useage of fossil fuels there will be changes in future weather patterns. Do people really want to subject there offspring to baking summers, freezing winters etc just because they are too selfish to care about anyone else but themselves (I would like to say what I really feel about these people but it would probably be censored.)As for being eyesore, I actually think that they look quite graceful. I would welcome a windmill in my back yard any day!

John.
Alright, who has been going around convincing gullible people that wind farms will get rid of electricity pylons? Not true!

Kate
I think wind turbines are quite nice to look at. They are like pieces of elegant art! I used to live somewhere where one was visable on top of a nearby hill and seeing it always cheered me up in the morning. Plus they generate some clean electricity- great!

Ian Winterbottom
I'm all for them. We need to be looking at any renewable source of energy we can. Dont let the wealthy snobs deter us for this.

adam taylor
As along term resident of Rochdale I can say i have no problem with the wind turbines. All those NIMBY protesters should realise that having a slightly altered view from their window is a small price to pay to help try and limit the consequences of Global Warming. If, like all of us, these people weren't burning fossil fuels at an alarming rate we wouldn't need to worry about our countries energy policy and it's consequences.

Routemartin
So united utilities and peel holding are in this for the good of the planet???? A full environment impact assessment should be done. Not just selective bits to suit an inquiry. All the energy input required to plan, build and run the wind farm should be measured even the energy used up at the inquiry it's self. This needs to be balanced against the payback from the wind energy generated. If the figures don't add up off you go UU. Or trade off should be consider! Instead of letting motor crossers ruin the moor which is happening at this moment. It should be fenced off and a wild life reserve should be open with the naden valley reforested.

Brenda - Rochdale
I don't think this issue should be decided on whether or not the pylons are aesthetic or not, just that they are necessary to safe guard the future of my childrens children and their children. The wildlife issue is just as important as our grandchildren in the wider scheme of things. Driving through california, just outside of Palm Springs last year we passed mile upon mile of these turbines, not too far from Bob Hope's Ranch. No one seemed to mind. How 'posh is that?' I would go so far as to say they actually looked very graceful. We all need electricity, if this is the way forward, so be it.

Caroline
I don't understand people's objections to them. They're much safer for children than having electric pylons everywhere, plus this is a great source of renewable energy. We humans do far more damage to the environment with our cars, litter and other pollution, than something that will provide a much-needed alternative source of energy. People just enjoy having something to whinge about, if you ask me.

ANDY C. DALE
THEY ARE A BAD IDEA. THEY RUIN THE COUNTRYSIDE AND DONT CREATE ENOUGH POWER.

Colin - Rochdale
They are hardly an eyesore compared with our modern developments and will provide clean energy.

Peter
In the scheme of things, they are only temporary and will be replaced with other forms of energy generation, probably in the next 20 years or so. the nimby's will just have to put up with them until then!

Adrian Thomson
I'm in favour of renewable energy but the fact that many 'green' people fail to realise is that windfarms will not reduce the number of coal, gas or nuclear powered stations simply due to the fact that it is not a reliable source - if there's no wind, there's no power - FACT. The government should be looking at alternative strategies such as providing grants for solar roof panels which work in all weather. Electricity produced by wind power is also incredibly expensive - its only because the suppliers have to buy a certain amount of 'green' electricity at its high price that any is bought at all - in a free market companies generating electricity from wind power would not survive...people need to face the fact that with current (no pun intended!) technology wind power is not an economically realistic alternative to conventional power generation...would everyone be happy to pay double for their electric? In response to Paula, the area in question is a blanket bog. The depth of the foundations required for each turbine is massive, so there is a significant likelihood of ruining the habitat of the wildlife in the area, and given the delicate nature of the moorland in the area, the number of large vehicles required to supply concrete, take away what they have dug up, and to erect the turbines will destroy the area.

Roger
I think they are a good thing, I wouldn't mind if they went up near me. Besides when better forms of producing energy can be found then these can be pulled down leaving no scar on the landscape. The locals might prefer a coal fired power station or no power at all.

Shinnanne Ingram
I'm a student at Rochdale College and live in Whitworth which is nearby and I would hate to have these turbines where they are planning to be placed. it would take away the beauty of the local area and it would upset the hundreds of residents around here. There is plenty of moorland NOT over-looking the town, could they not build it there?

Matt
Wind power is clean and free. Windmills look great and are certaily better than pylons.

Lawrence - Knutsford
I think they look fantastic - I'd have no objections what so ever to one being in my back garden. It saddens me that these whining folks grumble about the unspolit environment then knock the only viable ecofriednly power solution the country has - would they rather a nuclear power station in the area? As for the noise issue - I've stood immediatly below one going at full pelt and its no louder than a passing motor car. If the government is serious about 'going green' and cutting the countries emmisions then holding long drawn out enquiries that cost a fortune is a waste of time and money. Hold a local vote - Yes or no, simple as that. It'd take a few weeks to arrange - a day to count and then they can get on with it. It's the job of government and other elected bodies to do what is good for the country.

Hazel
I'm confused by some of the comments here. How will wind turbines get rid of electricity pylons? It just shows how people are being misled into believing that wind power is 'good' and everything else is 'bad'.

A. Howlett
These things are a waste of time and effort, and they are not particularly 'green' either. An offshore wind farm of 40 (forty!) turbines near Morecambe only generates enough power for two small towns, and don't forget that even if we managed to get decent amounts of power from them, we would still have to keep the oil, coal and gas-powered generating plants running on standby for periods with no wind. So we end up with a blot across all of Britain for nothing. We should start building modern nuclear plants as soon as possible.

Danny
Why not have them I say! They are becoming more common on our rural landscape, which means that we are becoming more accustomed to them. I think it’s a great statement as to how far we have come with technology; they are monument to how our very existence has developed. We need to harness what this world gives us in wind, solar, wave energy etc. The carbon sources of energy are fast running out, in the end we will have no alternative.

james
For all those against wind farms; i say stop providing them with electricity or place a dirty great big coal fired power station next to them instead and then see what the eyesore really is! great idea there should be alot more of them in my opinion.

Peter Woodall
I agree that the turbines are not the prettiest looking 'landmarks' but the fact is that Oil and Natural Gas WILL eventually run out and we need other forms of energy NOW and not in 40 years before it's too late. I also think for too long we have been pumping pollution into the air and sea and it's time to stop. Wind energy is a great alternative and produces no pollution. The goverment should just use it's compusary purchase orders and get them erected asap.

Paula
I believe these wind farms are a brilliant idea. We have to think about the future for our childrens sake. They are not ugly and are much better on the eye than all the electric pylons. We need sources of renewalable energy and they would not damage wildlife etc.. In effect in the long run it would actually preserve it. Let's face it, if we don't put the turbines there I'm pretty sure eventually someone will want to destroy it in some way. At least the turbines only take up a small space and the wildlife can still thrive. Too many people are afraid of change and I believe this is for the better.

Ally McMinn Gartson
I think they are disgusting eyesores on the landscape. You would never find one near my home in Gartson,I am so posh it I would find it a personal insult for one to be errected near my home.

Daniel Smith
I think that we should have wind farms all over the countryside, where there is enough wind to make them viable, as they are an excellent source of energy. People living nearby will soon get used to them and hardly notice them after a short while. I'm sure most people would rather look at a wind farm than a nuclear power station.

John Watling - Skem
I have wind power already it is great

Andy Feast
Renewable energy is despirately needed to ensure that this planet and its people survive. FACT. A wind farm is little price to pay for the electrical lifestyle we all enjoy.