EA plans 80 new wind turbines

The Environment Agency this week unveiled plans to build up to 80 wind turbines in EA-owned locations across the UK.

EA Chairman, Lord Chris Smith, told delegates at the Agency’s annual conference that 80 new wind turbines could provide enough electricity for 90,000 homes - equivalent to the number of houses in a city the size of York.

The money made selling electricity from the turbines would bring in £2.4 million extra funding for the government each year, money which could be used to do extra work to help the environment.

Smith also urged public sector bodies to follow the EA’s example and start putting renewable energy technologies on their land.

In total, the Government owns 10% of the UK’s land, and Smith believes that putting all this land to good use producing renewable energy would go a long way towards helping the UK meet its carbon emissions reduction targets.

Critics of the planned turbines have warned that the wind powered generators are likely to be placed in some of the UK’s most picturesque locations.

Sites for the turbines - which are all to be built on EA owned land - include the River Thames, the River Medway, and the Fens, one of the best bird watching locations in the UK.

In addition Professor David MacKay from Cambridge University has said that wind power is relatively ineffective.

According to MacKay, if wind turbines were built to cover an area the size of Wales, they would still only provide enough power for one sixth of the UK’s energy needs.