A wind of change blowing on the coast

A SERENE source of clean, never-ending energy, or an inefficient blight on the landscape?
The offshore windfarm debate has continued to rage for residents of Llandudno and Colwyn Bay since the threat of hundreds of turbines scattering our coastline was first raised in 2005.
Six years on and the controversial Gwynt Y Môr windfarm is ready to commence offshore construction.
Pioneer reporter David Waddington has been offshore to find out what is going on.

WHATEVER your opinion on windfarms, when approaching twenty five 150m tall turbines it is hard to not appreciate the epic scale of these impressive feats of engineering.

Towering pillars built to withstand the toughest conditions with powerful rotating blades, which swivel to capture the direction of the gales, the turbines at Rhyl Flats currently satisfy the energy needs of 60,000 homes by harnessing a constant source of free power - the wind.

But when Gwynt Y Môr begins offshore foundation work at the end of this year it won't be just 25 turbines, it will be 160 spread over 31 square miles.

Senior Project Manager for the development, Mike Unsworth, said: “Gwynt Y Môr will be further off shore. These [Rhyl Flats] turbines are about 8km away from the nearest point of the coast, but Gwynt Y Môr will be 13km. They are exactly the same type of turbine, so will look smaller, but they will be over a wider spread.”

One of the largest windfarms

Gwynt Y Môr - which will be one of the largest offshore windfarms in the world - will be 10 miles off the coast of Llandudno and at its closest to the North Wales coast at Penrhyn where turbines will lie eight miles away.

At such a significant size, RWE npower renewables claim the windfarm will provide enough power for almost 400,000 homes - a figure attacked by protest groups like Save Our Scenery as being overly optimistic, and based on the rare occasion when all the turbines are operating at full capacity.

So what if there is no wind?

According to Mr Unsworth, the figures are an accurate and realistic estimate based on the "capacity factor", which takes into consideration the behaviour of the wind, including when it is not blowing.

“The turbines themselves will not necessarily be on full power all the time,” he said. “It all depends on windspeed. 400,000 homes is taking this into account. It takes into account the high and low wind speeds.”

Marine life

Although turbines will only be running at full power 30-40 per cent of the time the energy firm still believe 567MW of energy will be generated from the windfarm, and few protestors deny renewable energy is more preferable than environmentally unfriendly fossil fuels.

However, concerns over the impact on oceanic wildlife has been a factor for conservationists concerned over the effects of pile-driving 160 pillars into the seabed eco-system.

“They don't affect the marine life,” confirmed Mr Unsworth. “What you do find is marine life actually attaches itself to them. The sea bed is actually what we call a scour wash, which means everything is moving around. When we are putting these 30-40 feet supports into the ground we are relying on the sea bed to support them. Because everything is moving around them, we place rocks around them to keep them in place, and marine life is attracted."”

Other windfarm myths do not require such scientific explanations to be dispelled.

Noise

Fears raised over noise levels generated by whizzing windfarm turbines affecting coastal residents are quickly belied after standing directly beneath a spinning blade and having to ask the captain to turn off the boat's engines to hear the gentle whooshing of the turbine just 30 metres above.

Even with 160 blades, Mr Unsworth was confident no sound would be heard miles away on shore.

“If it was an onshore windfarm and you were living 600m away from it, it might be an issue. But it just isn't the case with offshore windfarms.”

So why is there such opposition to windfarms?

They generate clean energy and boost local employment (Gwynt Y Môr itself currently employs 150 people, which will go up to 600-700 people during the height of construction resulting in 90 permanent jobs).

Renewable energy companies and anti-windfarm campaigners continue to disagree over the facts and figures, but for a majority of North Wales residents it boils down to a question of aesthetics:
Do people want to see a horizon of spinning turbines? Will it affect tourism? And will it really help meet our energy needs?

When the first turbines start generating energy in 2013, perhaps these questions can be answered.

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