My Town Monday - The Changing Coast of England
We have just returned from a week away in Scratby, which is a small village on the coast of Norfolk, Its a pretty little place with lovely beaches and very little commercialisation (I hate the smell of fish and chips wafting onto the beach, there is none of that!!) The horizon and landscape has changed with the arrival of the countries very first commercial 'wind farm' The thirty massive turbines are out at sea and can be seen from miles away.
The turbines really shift, I took the above photo in an effort to show movement in the blades, I am not sure I have been totally successful!
The full story is below these photos.....
From wherever you are on the surrounding beaches you can not fail to notice these monsters. I have taken a few words from the web site of the company E-ON who installed them.
Scroby Sands is one of the UK's first commercial offshore wind farms. Commissioned in March 2004 the £75 million project generates enough energy to supply over 30000 homes, saving the emission of 67802 tonnes of carbon dioxide, nearly 600 tonnes of sulphur dioxide and nearly 200 tonnes of oxides of nitrogen each year.
Community Involvement.
Each year we fund the annual Caister Lifeboat Fireworks display. We are also closely involved with the local schools and have taken part in events using Scroby Sands Wind Farm to explain mathematical concepts to over 100 year 9 pupils. Many schools have also enjoyed beach talks by the team that manages the wind farm on a daily basis - explaining how the site was constructed and how the wind power will help to meet the UK renewable energy targets.
Each year we fund the annual Caister Lifeboat Fireworks display. We are also closely involved with the local schools and have taken part in events using Scroby Sands Wind Farm to explain mathematical concepts to over 100 year 9 pupils. Many schools have also enjoyed beach talks by the team that manages the wind farm on a daily basis - explaining how the site was constructed and how the wind power will help to meet the UK renewable energy targets.
So these off shore wind farms are a sign of the future, a move towards clean sustainable fuel. I would really like a smaller version in my garden!!
4 comments:
Good to see this. They are fighting it in Canada. But we have to do something about the energy situation.
There's been talk about harnessing wind power on Lake Erie in Ohio as well. Tough issues, I think.
My first concern was the very interesting name 'Scratby.' Your photos of the place are lovely. The part of me that loves Dickens can imagine a character named that. Perhaps he'd perpetually have mussed hair in honor of the wind farm.
We have a tone of those giant windmills here in the panhandle. It's probably the fastest growing industry we have.
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