Duke Likes 48-Turbine Wind Farm

May 14th, 2012 by Jake Richardson

Guy David Innes-Ker, the 10th Duke of Roxburghe, may have a 48-turbine wind power farm constructed on his property between Edinburg and Berwick-upon-Tweed. (If you don’t know where this site is, no one will fault you.) Berwick is a small town of about 11,000 located just 2.5 miles south of Scotland. It has been inhabited for many centuries and was sacked over ten times before 1482. You might say it is one of those peaceful, bucolic settings tourists enjoy very much for getaways.

Because it is appreciated for its simple, quiet life, plans to build a large onshore wind farm in such a place have generated controversy and opposition. It has been said the Duke’s wind farm could have turbines 400 feet high, and that he might earn between $720,000 to $1.5 million per year once the project is finished and generating electricity. Reportedly, a road has been built in once pristine land in order to facilitate the installation. The wind farm’s turbines will not be visible from his ancestral home at Floors Castle, 25 miles away. The Duke may be worth $70 million already, so such a venture might appear questionable to some, but if it his land, why should there be any fuss?

The Earl of Spencer, Duke of Gloucester, and Sir Reginald Sheffield have all engaged in similar wind ventures, and profitably. A national incentive has helped facilitate such projects, but it has been questioned by critics who say it misguided. “It is shoveling money towards people who have been lucky enough to get planning permission and it encourages the construction of wind farms in remote places where it is very expensive to connect to the national grid,” said Professor David Newbery, director of Cambridge University’s electricity policy research group.

The Prince of Wales and the Duke of Northumberland have spoken out against wind turbines as blights upon the countryside, so not all the nobility are for the new ventures.

Image Credit: Shermozle, Wiki Commons
Source: The Telegraph

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About the Author

Jake Richardson Hello, I have been writing online for some time, and enjoy the outdoors. If you like, you can follow me on Google Plus.

Luke

Offer the NIMBY’s free power. That’ll shut them up.
- http://cleantechnica.com/ Zachary Shahan
  
  Haha. true
Dcard88

If a 150 Mega Watt facility is only 30 to 40 miles from Edinburg, I dont see that the transmission distance is a problem. Could be even closer, at least to outlying neighborhoods. Relative I suppose.