WIND FARMS Friend or Foe? (write this title in book)
Here are some questions to answer (see Earthworks page
1. How windy is Britain? 78)
Which parts of Britain are the windiest?(see map)
2.What type of energy is wind power?
3.When was Britain’s First Wind farm built?
Wind Turbine
Wind Farm
Renewable Energy
Carbon dioxide
Global Warming
Megawatts
4.What conditions do we need to make a good site for a wind farm? (hint p 78
Earthworks)
(copy)
We need special conditions to site a wind farm. These are
Conditions (criteria) Because
Here are some statements which are against wind farms. Can you think of ones that are for?
Wind farms are inefficient, 3 wind turbines will produce the same amount of electricity in 1 year that a normal power station would produce in 2
HOURS
At the recently installed wind farm at Dun Law, south of Edinburgh each turbine required a hole the size of 3 double-decker buses to be dug out and filled with reinforced concrete.
Unpleasant flickering effects can cause problems up to a distance of 2 kilometres away from wind farms.
The noise that it emits, a mixture of whooshing, whistling and humming, can clearly be heard 1000 yards away. (Ian Blair, Darlington and Stockton
Times).

TASK 1
1.
Put title The Case against Wind Farms in book
2.
Copy out each statement and then at the end say why e.g. you will have to have lots of wind farms just to produce a small amount of energy.
3. There are good reasons for having windfarms> draw up a table as
follows. You should think up at least three.
Good reasons for wind power Why
This website may help http://www.yes2wind.com/
4. Who is right?
Read the following
WIND POWER IN IRELAND
Standing on Culliagh, with a panoramic view of the Blue Stack Mountains to your left and the Derryveagh Mountains to your right, it would be hard to imagine any place nearer to
God. Far from being the eyesore that local people once thought they would be, these towering, majestic windmills only add to the breathtaking beauty of this ancient, unspoiled land. Like gargantuan white birds, the whoosh whoosh of their turbines somehow seem to sing in harmony with the wind.
WIND POWER IN SCOTLAND
Welcome to the SKYE WINDFARM ACTION GROUP
... a newly formed action group representing the residents and friends of Scotland's Isle of Skye.
Drawn from all walks of life, our numbers are growing rapidly.
We are shocked and horrified at recent news indicating that Skye's legendary beauty is about to be robbed from the world. News that Skye's hillsides are to be filled with 28 "eco-friendly" wind turbines, each three hundred and thirty feet high. The sheer size of these equates to a number of thirty-storey buildings being placed on the once pristine landscape.

We believe that a unique beauty and way of life will be stolen from all of those who live, work and visit the Isle of Skye. We aim to raise public awareness of the proposed plan and to inform the world of the largely unspoken but detrimental effects it could possibly have on the fragile environment and the tourism-dependent economy of this very special place.
Task 2:
Design a PRESS RELEASE for the two ideas above. A press release is information you want the local papers to know. What information would you give?
Press Release Irish Windfarms
Press Release SKYE WINDFARM ACTION GROUP
You can include sketches/diagrams to help.
You should also write two letters against these press releases: a.
A letter from an Irish person against Irish Windfarms b.
A letter from a resident on the Isle of Skye who wants wind farms.
GO TO ACTIVITY 1, 2 3 Page 79
Title book
ASSESSMENT GEOGRAPHY
Background
A company SWISH (Staffordshire’s Wind In Stone’s Heart)has applied to erect a wind turbine close to the Village of Oulton. It will receive a government grant of £1 million to set up wind turbines in the area. The government is keen to produce more renewal energy so that less fossil fuels are used. The government is worried about carbon dioxide emissions and its effect on global warming. Wind power does not give off any gases!
Not everyone id happy and a pressure group called SAWE (Stone Against Wind farm Eyesores) wants it stopped.

Alleyne’s
High
School
C
1. In your own words explain why someone would want to set up a wind farm in
Oulton
2. Why would the government want to give a grant?
3. Why are some people against it?
A
Height over 195 metres
Proposed Wind
Turbine
D

4. Describe the site of the proposed wind turbine
5. Why do you think SWISH chose this site?
TASK 4
People’s Views
There are 4 families who live in this area who have opinions on this. They are labelled as living at A, B, C, and D
They were asked to answer a questionnaire on the siting of the new wind turbine. Here are their replies:
Comment 1
I think it’s a good idea. We need to stop using too many fossil fuels which can cause global warming. We are trying to save energy using water power from the nearby Scotch Brook. We have no objections
Comment 2
It’s a disgrace. The noise will keep us up. It so close to our house it will lower the price if we want to sell. Go Away!
Comment 3
It’s a quiet village. I think it will ruin the view of the hill. Nobody wants to see a big turbine towering over the village. They say it’s good for the environment…not here!
Comment 4
We can’t see it and so it does not bother me. We don’t live in the village anyway. We have also been told that it might bring down the price of electricity. There are also going to be a few jobs created in the area. I might even go for one as I am a skilled construction worker
Write in your books
Match the Comments above with the letters A, B, C, D. You will need to give a full reason why you chose the comment. Below will help
I matched comment 1 with letter……. because
I matched comment 2 with letter……. because
I matched comment 3 with letter……. because
I matched comment 4 with letter……. because
Activity 5
Investigative Reporting
The Stone newsletter has picked up on the story. It is going to the front page story. You should now write a story to go with this topic.

On the next page there is a sketch of the site (without the wind turbine). You could use this to draw on what the turbines should look like.
You can also report on a public meeting held at Oulton village Hall (see sheet)
Task 6
The British Government wants us to use more renewable energy. Should we have more than 10% of Britain's energy from renewable resources?
Should we stick too coal?
Produce a chart which puts forward the different points of view. Come up with
YOUR CHOICE. Sketches,words,graphs can be used.
What do you think about wind power are you for or against?
Produce a chart/poster
COAL or WIND ?
Extension
Write a story about this photograph. Label some of the issues raised.
One has been done for you. WIND POWER FRIEND OR FOE?
What do you think the people in this house think about Wind Power?
IT’S NOISY
HERE. I
CAN’T GET
TO SLEEP