Ecotricity: 20 More Urban Wind Projects Planned
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 10.18.07
Ecotricity, the UK renewable energy pioneer whose founder, Dale Vince, we interviewed here, seems to be continuing with its push to place wind turbines in urban, industrialized ‘brownfield’ sites. In a report over at The Guardian, Vince recently announced that they have up to 20 urban turbine projects in the pipeline. The driver for this was clear – much swifter planning processes and a lack of NIMBY opposition:
In rural areas we repeatedly come up against a minority of local residents and councils adopting the 'not in my back yard' approach. It's the complete opposite in urban/industrial areas where such proposals have been largely welcomed. In some cases they have been approved straight away.
We tend to be in favor of well-sited wind turbines, even if they do change the view somewhat. However, we all need wilderness too, and we are delighted to see Ecotricity exploiting the opportunities of already industrialized landscapes rather than turning its attentions immediately to our national parks. ::Guardian::via Ecotricity:: via site visit::
As i look out my front window I see a telephone pole with about 32 wires that hanging from it including a few that seems to be cut and hanging there. There is also a metal box attached to it and another gadget that looks like a car radiator hanging between two wires. C'mon over Mr. Vince. Put up a dozen. I would love to see a change of scenery.