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PRESS RELEASE
05 January 2008

CARNAGE AS ECOTRICITY TURBINE COLLAPSES

On Saturday night an Ecotricity wind turbine at their Fen Farm site in Conisholme, North East Lincolnshire (similar to those being proposed at Silton in Somerset) suffered a catastrophic structural failure in the freezing conditions.

Two huge blades were severely damaged after apparently making contact with the tower. One blade fell to the ground only after shedding large pieces of debris from height and over a wide area.

The base of the tower now shows signs of a major impact as the blade smashed through the entrance structure at ground level before rolling into the neighbouring field.

Ecotricity emergency engineers arrived on site at 15.00 on January 4th to begin an examination of the damage and assess the cost of repairs needed.

Local Dorset residents are now demanding answers regarding the safety of the turbines proposed at Silton.

Chairman, Save Our Silton, Chris Langham said;

“These issues around wind turbine safety in the cold weather are not new.
In December we reported on the potentially lethal ice that was thrown from blades at Whittlesey - Ecotricity’s own website acknowledged the risk of ice throw when it cited it as the reason not to go ahead with a recent proposal for a wind turbine at Manchester City stadium. The Fen Farm incident shows that there are other safety concerns.

We hope that this incident will once more show planners the real problems over safety and design that Ecotricity’s Enercon turbines have and that the proposed site at Silton is just too close to houses to be safe.”

END

Click here to view photographs of the incident

For further information please call 07968 049 832

Notes for Editors 1) Save Our Silton now has over 500 local, individual and family members.

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BWEA forced to admit that it has been grossly overstating the amount of CO2 saved by wind energy: see STOP PRESS page.

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Development Control Committee Meeting postponed

The Meeting to consider the Ecotricity application has now been postponed until the 17th February, at Gillingham School. However, this date could well slip again, as the Planning Officer is awaiting various items of information.

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(4th December): Click here to view the video clip from BBC news - absolutely terrifying! 

Remember, the Silton turbines, if built, would be within 50m of the Drove Road - a public highway - and less than 150m from the B3081!

How on earth did the developer get permission to erect the turbine so close to houses ? Noise & ice pollution!

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SOS - MEMBERS' MEETING

The meeting took place at Milton-on-Stour school on the 13th October. Chris Langham updated members on the current position. Our response to the Ecotricity proposal was handed in to NDDC a couple of weeks ago. It consisted of a comprehensive report by our landscape architect, supported by the photomontages produced for us by Architech. There was also a noise report. The document included a summary and our own conclusions, by John Constable. The photomontages were shown at the meeting (please see the new Photomontages page for further details).

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THE BLIMP

Hundreds of local people watching the blimp earlier this month were shocked to see how high it was over the field near the site proposed for the turbines. But the blimp is only 20 feet long and 8 feet across at its widest point (a mere speck seen from the ground), while the six turbines blades, 230 feet in diameter, will each take up more than an acre of space as they turn in the sky.

The blimp was paid for by a group of SOS supporters who have leased it free of charge to SOS.

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UNANIMOUS OPPOSITION TO THE TURBINES

NOT ONE COUNCIL IN THE AREA AFFECTED HAS VOTED IN FAVOUR OF THIS PROPOSAL - EVERY SINGLE ONE VOTED TO OPPOSE!

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LETTERS TO THE COUNCIL

THERE WERE ALMOST 2000 LETTERS OF OBJECTION AND ONLY SIX IN SUPPORT!