Last week we submitted a planning application to install a wind turbine at our HQ, The Lodge, in Sandy. Nearby neighbours in Gamlingay built a community turbine earlier this year. Here, Jennifer Docherty from the Gamlingay Environmental Action Group shares her experiences.
I always liked the idea of “knowing which way the wind blows” and now I can actually see it - but it’s not quite as easy as I thought it would be - as I keep forgetting to look.
Now our community turbine is up and running, helping our village reduce the amount of fossil fuel used to produce our domestic electricity I find myself forgetting it’s there. I have to make a mental note each day to remember and look to see “which way the wind is blowing”.
When the idea of the locally funded turbine was first muted I attended the various meetings held to get a better understanding of the project and what the impact would be on our community both visually and environmentally.
In themselves I’ve always found turbines quite attractive in shape, like modern day windmills, and I liked the idea that instead of turning sails in the wind to generate the power to grind grain into flour for our daily bread that the new ‘turbine’ versions still feed us, just in a more modern and renewable way.
This personal and romantic aesthetic didn’t mean that I didn’t listen to the disquiet of others within the village and surrounds about unease as to where the turbine was to be sited and how it would look against our agricultural background. Fears were raised regards flicker and noise, there was apprehension connected to archaeological and wildlife upset and disquiet that there could be a detrimental impact to house prices.
Some of the dissenting voices even raised problems that just would never occur, like danger to local aerodromes, but always at the back of mind I kept having to remind myself that all these worries were just “what-if’s” and that climate change isn’t – it’s actually happening - and we all have to take responsibility for ensuring that we strive toward a more sustainable & renewable existence.
At these meetings each point raised, not matter how alarmist, was responded to in a knowledgeable and measured manner enabling me to make my own informed decision from the facts provided. We can all be given information but it it’s up to each individual to take from it what they choose.
I chose to embrace this undersized yet effective contribution to significantly offsetting the carbon footprint of our village whilst helping to create an exciting opportunity to support future environmentally friendly projects from the income stream generated by the community tithe.
And not surprisingly the overwhelming view of the community agreed as was testament when, at the final planning meeting, the vast majority of the room showed in favour, either in person or by written support.
After all the laborious preparatory work of bringing this exciting vision to fruition the actual construction was swift and relatively undisruptive, although there was tell of a “space ship” type thing being transported down Church Street at one point, which I later heard was actually part of the turbine’s hub, but even this caused less inconvenience than the usual tractor one-way meets bus going other-way scenario.
I think of our wee community turbine in the same way I do giving blood. I am lucky enough to have the ability to be able to save someone’s life by the simple gift of giving, at no cost to myself but it makes me feel amazing. It’s the same with our turbine but instead we are helping to save not just 1 person, but our whole planet – just a little bit at a time.