Wild Land News no 71, Spring/Summer 2008

MoD objects to windfarms Article

The Ministry of Defence has objected to 13 windfarms across Scotland as well as 29 in England. Most of the concerns are in connection either with interference with low flying exercises or with air-traffic control. Radar screens have been found to confuse the rotating blades of the turbines with aircraft propeller blades, and at a site in Wales an extensive "zone of invisibility" was created. In one case the MoD fears that the vibration from the turbine blades might interfere with the sensors at the Eskdalemuir seismological reporting station which is one of a global chain to detect nuclear explosions anywhere across the globe.

There is a certain irony for SWLG to find the MoD as an ally in blocking unwanted developments in wild places in Scotland. Before now we have commented on the unwelcome intrusion of low-flying aircraft, and it was the proposed purchase of Knoydart for military training purposes that prompted the formation of the Group in 1982.