Wind Farm PIMBY's - Is it generational?

[Mart]

Saw this article about Prince William and his inclusion of on-shore wind in considerations for the Duchy of Cornwall, whereas Prince Charles (as was) was totally against on-shore wind.

TBF to Charles he has always been pro-environment, so I was wondering if this is simply an issue of a different person, with a different view, or perhaps a generational issue, with younger people simply not concerned with the visual 'impact' of WT's, or even liking them?

I'd call myself a PIMBY (please, in my back yard), as I think they look great, and represent something huge and important. I also appreciate that many members on here will be of ........ cough ...... a more mature age .... cough ..... but also enjoy a nice WT, but not sure we are average when considering the population as a whole.

Anyways ..... just rambling, but hoping that the negative issue of WT looks is something that will continue to fade, as they become an ever more normal part of the view, since we are naturally wired to be a bit nervous/scared of new stuff and change in general.

[Note - Haven't checked for a while, but over a 10yr period the Gov's quarterly public attitude surveys showed a healthy change in attitudes towards on-shore wind. Whilst it remains less popular than PV and off-shore wind, support grew from about 66% to 75%, whilst opposition fell from 12% to 8%, which is actually quite impressive - a 33% drop in those oppossed, during the very period when on-shore wind was 'impacting' us both visually and financially.]


Prince William could overturn king’s windfarm ban as he orders renewable energy review for estate

His father thinks windfarms are a blot on the landscape, once saying he feared Britain would end up like Denmark “knee deep in these damn things”. But now Prince William is considering overturning their effective ban on royal land.

The Prince of Wales has ordered a major review of renewable energy on his 130,000-acre Duchy of Cornwall estate, which is expected to change the face of his hereditary property empire stretching across 20 counties in England.

William, 42, is looking at introducing large-scale solar panel farms, geothermal energy extracted from beneath the Earth’s surface, and biomass from decaying organic matter alongside onshore wind turbines to increase renewable energy output and help the duchy reach net zero carbon emissions by 2032.

The duchy’s board, the prince’s council, which is chaired by William, is expected to consider a study – described as a significant piece of work – on large-scale renew­able energy later this year and sources have made it clear that putting wind farms on duchy land is up for consideration.

[Moxi]

Now I am really confused Mart thinks I am mature with COVID (apparently cough .......cough ) whilst just this morning my wife called me an "immature k%0&" whilst I, in my head, I am still 28, but after a weekend picking and filling Gabions my joints feel more line with what I perceive an 88 year old to feel like, with the reality being that I am in the age band of JB, and I think Resybaby and a few others It makes you wonder what our age demographic actually looks like doesn't it ?

In terms of the topic, I too would be classed as a PIMBY and when we holiday (most years) in Cornwall one of our great delights is seeing all the WT's dotted across the landscape, one of the first things my 5th child was able to recognise and get excited about was WT's and as you say Mart, the younger generation are starting to see them as an everyday item on the horizon and therefore have a more general acceptance.

Long may the trend in attitudes changing in favour prevail for WT's and Solar PV.

Moxi

[resybaby]

Cornwall resident and would love to see more onshore WT's around. People think Cornwall is all about the beaches and coastline when there is so much poor quality land just left doing nothing along the spine of the country. True it can be rugged and nice to look at in spots, but in all honesty more turbine would, imv, enhance it. Next time you drive past the new A30 Chiverton island on your holidays down here just take a look at all the 'waste' lamd around the junction. Drove round it with swmbo earlier today and we reconned it would be a great olace for a couple of turbines.

The good news however, thanks to the reuse of certain scrap components by a forum member with time on his hands there are four additional turbines down here operating this afternoon. Pictures later

[resybaby]

Well i dont suppose Ripple will be too worried about the competition, but what else to do with a few broken drone propellers. Kept me busy for a few . . . . seconds.
I'll get my coat.

[nowty]

Liking the counter rotation for stability.

[Mart]

Cornwall resident and would love to see more onshore WT's around.

That's ringing a bell, possibly from the early 2010's. This was back when the Negative Nancies were trying to spin RE as a turn-off for tourists, as part of the FUD campaign.

There was a survey carried out on tourists, and I'm pretty sure it was for Cornwall. They were asked what impact RE had on their choice to visit again.

The biggest takeaway was that the vast, vast majority simply said they couldn't care less, so that was the great news. But the funny bit that stuck with me, was that off the small minority that had an opinion, let's say it was 5% (I can't remember exactly), it was split 2% less likely to come back, and 3% more likely to come back, as a result of the rollout of RE.

I still find that hilarious