Green group wins £50,000 to help make city turbine dream a reality
The green group has won �50,000 to help make their city turbine dream a reality
COMMUNITY groups wanting to build a wind turbine at Seafield have won more than £50,000 funding after beating off competition from nearly 1000 other renewable projects in a public vote.
The money, together with a grant already secured from the Scottish Government, will allow the groups behind the turbine plan – Pedal Portobello Transition Town and Greener Leith – to complete feasibility studies for the proposal and take it right up to planning application stage.
If all goes well, the turbine – which would be between 80 and 125 metres high and is to be sited at Seafield waste water works – could be up and generating electricity by mid-2013.
The project narrowly won the online vote held on Energyshare.com. The contest was a collaboration between River Cottage and British Gas, with awards totalling £500,000 up for grabs.
Eva Schonveld, chairwoman of Pedal Portobello Transition Town, said: “We’re delighted to have won so much support for the project, and would like to thank everyone who took the time to vote for us.
“The funding is very welcome and will allow us to complete the final stage of feasibility work, but just as valuable is the massive support from local people that this vote represents.”
Charlotte Encombe, chairwoman of Greener Leith, said: “A big thank you to everyone who voted online, tweeted, facebooked, blogged and badgered their friends and colleagues to support the project. We’re delighted to be the most popular project, but the turbine is not built yet. We still have a number of hurdles to overcome, but this vote gives a clear message that the project has widespread support.”
The turbine, expected to cost between £1 million and £3.5m to build, would be the UK’s first community-owned turbine and could power between 300 and 1300 homes. Money raised through the sale of the electricity would be pumped back into community projects.
Chas Booth, a trustee for Greener Leith, said the groups expected to get around £58,000 to add to £118,000 from the government to pay for detailed monitoring of wind speeds, ecological surveys to ensure there was no threat to birdlife and carry out other technical work.
The groups are already in discussions with site owner Scottish Water and site operator Stirling Water and hope to apply for planning permission next year.
Mr Booth said: “We also need to talk to people who live in the area and the community council and see what their views are. If they say they want a smaller turbine, we will listen to that. If they say they want a larger one because it’s going to generate more electricity and it’s more of a symbol, we’ll listen to that, too.”
He said if the feasibility studies were positive, the group expected to have to borrow to finance the building of the turbine, but would still have to find up to 20 per cent of the cost through fundraising.
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Comments
There are 27 comments to this article
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Alternative (High Octane) Fuel Head
Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 01:28 PMJools: "Their argument is quite simply that it is happening now at a much faster rate and to a greater extent than ever before." ...And that's aht I have an issue with. they are arguing that something unique is happening which not only cannot be backed up historically but cannot be disproven either. This is the ideal thing for politicians. All they need to do is to dream up some propaganda that tell everyone that it is our fault yet it can be reversed by us paying more tax and being inconvenienced. All they need are a few "respected scientists" to go on the record as saying things like "the (vast) majority of the scientific community agree that..." or "...it has been proven that..." and to go on telly showing us meaningless graphs and claim that they "demonstrate" that Armageddon is happening "NOW!". Of course a few pictures of Polar bears sitting on pieces of ice surrounded by sea (actually a common sight in the summer months) and the deception is almost complete. One questino keep springing to mind though... These people are telling us that sea levels will rise and flood our major cities in 50 years time. They also tell us that despite reducing our "carbon footprints" [sic] it is too late to stop it. Well, if whatthey were saying WAS true... If they actually had EVIDENCE to back it up... would they not be taking steps to deal with it by now?
Jools in Edinburgh
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 09:31 PMBridgetthecat....you have the eloquence of a ned in the school playground.
Jools in Edinburgh
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 09:30 PMBeelzebub.....thanks for that but your argument gets repeated over and over again by the climate-change deniers despite the fact that it denies the facts. Fact is that those who believe in climate change have always accepted that this has been happening for millions of years. Their argument is quite simply that it is happening now at a much faster rate and to a greater extent than ever before.
Leisure_suit_Larry
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 08:24 PMPending Moderation
Free2B
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 06:39 PM@beelzebub... i agree with much of what you say, but let me rephrase what i meant by 'government paying'. try this .. out of our 650 odd politicians (government) If they were told about ''global warming research'' and asked to contribute from THEIR salaries (instead of simply taxing us) to offset carbon dioxide, how much do you think the 'whip round' would raise... £5.. £10... maybe if we send the 'whip' round making them contribute (our ''democracy'' in action) we might get a wee bit more.... but then how many would say they 'believe' or that it is 'beyond questioning and now proven' .. call me a cynic but it would die out there if our politicians paid from their pockets.
Beelzebub's amanuensis
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 06:12 PMI'm afraid # 21 and some of the others who have expressed views contrary to those of the 'anthropogenic climate change' lobby (without resorting to abuse) are almost certainly right - climate change is an ongoing process, and while we need to conserve non-renewable energy sources, it will happen regardless of our activities, especially as developing countries can't afford to buy into this philosophy. But #17 - "Do you REALLY think we would have global warming IF the government paid - and not the people?" - how exactly is government to pay, when the only money they have comes from us? We all pay, not only through taxes, but because no matter how 'green' each individual or community thinks it is, if it buys goods or services, prices rise to offset the tax the providers pay. Maybe the green lobby thinks a subsistence economy is sustainable in the west?
Irritatingly Intelligent Chauvinist
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 05:48 PMElectricity MUST be supplied on demand. When someone switches on a kettle, say, at that instant, more electricity is supplied to the national grid matching exactly the electricity requirements of that kettle. This comes about by the burning of slightly more coal, gas, or by raising the control rods in the reactor of a nuclear power station, etc...Unfortunately, wind cannot be controlled in such a way. I.e. there is no way of ensuring the correct amount of wind will blow at exactly the time people decide to switch on their electrical appliances, rendering wind power unreliable and useless the vast majority of the time.
Incandescent
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 05:44 PM#11 bridgethecat ------ Eloquently put. I don't think you've left anyone in any doubt as to your own academic credentials.
Free2B
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 05:44 PMSorry comment box messing it up.... insert a '' before the '0' - 034234 if you really want a balanced scientific view and not just have faith in the gods of climate taxation.
Free2B
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 05:40 PMoops ... sorry... missed a slash on the link - http:www.naturalnews.com034234_wind_turbines_abandoned.html
Free2B
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 05:25 PM'Green' has been hijacked by governments worldwide as a new religion that generates ...wait for it .. TAX. I say religion because science looks at both sides and listens to argument. Climate change is a 'religion' because its heresy to question it. Surely if truth the facts would speak for themselves, and they just dont. Global climate change always has and always will happen while we have a SUN. In the 70's we were warned we were heading to an 'ice age' .. then it became 'global warming' then when it wasn't warming the catch-all of 'climate change. Do you REALLY think we would have global warming IF the government paid - and not the people? Wind power is useful while 'we' subsidise it. When the rich have taken their subsidies and made their vast SCAM profits the wind turbines are abandoned. We're behind in this race... America has found the turbines not cost effective when the grants go - http:www.naturalnews.com034234_wind_turbines_abandoned.html
not me again
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 04:50 PMDoes this mean that it will fan the pong further afield and more of us can enjoy the aroma?
edinburgh100
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 02:55 PM#11 Fact wind power is expensive fact wind does not blow all the time fact wind can blow too fast fact wind can blow too slow fact wind power cannot replace base load electricity all these are facts Also when the people living next to this monster wants to sell there homes we will soon see who wants to live with the noise of the blades and the sheer size of it in there view PS go on get angry at the facts
bridgetthecat
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 02:30 PMFor the heads up the @sre bridgage. http:nozebra.ipapercms.dkVestasCommunicationTheGridSeptember2011TheGridSeptember2011UK
Logie88
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 02:27 PMIt will be interesting to see if the Portobello Against...Everything brigade support this.
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