MABRAKE – Milton Abbot, BRadstone And KElly Action group.

On June 27^th at the Victory Hall, Lewdown we are having a meeting of Local Councillors and environmental groups to discuss how we can preserve the beautiful area between the Tamar and Dartmoor from large scale development.

The meeting starts at 2.30 and all those who are concerned about the threats to this outstanding landscape are welcome to attend.

The government have brought forward the decarbonizing of Britain’s Electricity Supply from 2035 to 2030. To achieve this they have identified 17 Major Projects including doubling the number of Onshore Wind Turbines and building112 miles of Pylons form Norwich to Tilbury. Apart from the environmental impact of these projects it is doubtful they can be achieved in the timescale

Our last coal fired power station has closed and 8 of our existing Nuclear Power Stations will close in the next 4 years. The government have stopped any new projects for oil and gas exploration in the North Sea.

There have been times in the last month when due to the lack of Wind and Sunshine only 7% of the requirement has been met by Wind Turbines and Solar Farms. 54% has come from Gas Power Stations and 17% from Nuclear (soon to be phased out), 10% was imported at high cost from other countries.

With the current policies there is a danger to businesses and consumers that the electricity availability will be limited with potential disruptions to supply.

We are delighted to report on major additions to the MABRAKE Committee with new members from Lifton and Bradstone together with the amalgamation with the SALT action group.

The Committee membership is now:

• Jen Cozens (Lifton)
• Terence Lewis (Lifton)
• Magnus Pahlsson (Bradstone)
• Keith Tayler (Kellacott)
• Gary Vanstone (Bradstone)
• Simon Wolstenholme (Sourton)

This strengthening of the Committee allows us to continue our work of conserving the environment in our part of West Devon.

MABRAKE is trying to be neutral, have an open mind and to be as factual as possible relating to environmental issues including energy sources. We welcome a debate based on facts and not on political or environmental misconceptions via irresponsible lobbying and we do not mind being told should we present incorrect information.

Our current Government have announced that they will make it easier for landowners and investors to obtain planning permission for onshore Wind Turbines. This reverses previous promises to stop the installation of these highly controversial sources of energy in populated areas.

Labour is saying that they will lift the existing block on planning and fast-track onshore  wind turbines under their net zero drive if elected. They say theirs is not just a climate mission, it is a security mission, a growth mission and a cost-of-living mission but they say so with misleading information.

What is known is that the high-voltage electricity transmission network (National Grid) in England & Wales has limited spare capacity even for the current electricity requirements (input or distribution). There is not  the capacity for any substantial increase of electric car charging power outlets, not to mention huge power inputs. That is why National Grid have proposed a £60bn upgrade to the grid using both under-ground cabling and Pylons (19^th March 2024). Using Pylons is estimated to cost 1/4^th of placing such cables underground and they are forecasting 1000 miles of Pylons at this stage 1 level (National grid & national news channels).

 These pylons are huge and do have a  major environmental impact not to mention electromagnetic field issues to living creatures including humans. Gov.Uk are stating there is ‘uncertainty’ regarding such health effects. Many people living close to existing pylons have a different experience. More information including photos on how these pylons would look can be found at: https://www.nationalgrid.com/stories/energy-explained/everything-you-ever-wanted-know-about-electricity-pylons.  

Before the National Grid are allowed to proceed with this upgrade there should be a debate on how it can be phased so that more if not all cables can be laid underground.

The politicians are trying to persuade us that more onshore wind turbines will bring down electricity costs. That is incorrect. The wholesale price of electricity is responsible for the prices. The price is generally set by the most expensive source that has to be ‘turned on’ and that is gas.

There is a proposal for an ‘incentive’ to local residents who permit new turbines in their area by providing cheaper electricity to them but such promises in the past have either not materialized or been short lived. Such ‘incentives’ will not compensate residents for the well documented reduction in their property values that will result.

On the 12^th December 2023 at 10.40am, one of the coldest days of the year, the total output of all the Wind Turbines (on-shore and off-shore) was only 1.2GW when the electricity demand was 44GW. Gas and Nuclear were providing 70% of the requirement. The reason for this is clear. On uniformly cold and hot days there is little atmospheric pressure change and so no significant wind, so wind turbines are unable to provide a reliable power source.

There is no ‘net-zero’ involved in the construction, shipping, building of the wind turbines and the construction of the enormous cement foundations 937,500 kgs/MW (Source  https://www.freeingenergy.com/math/wind-turbine-weight-pound-mwh-gwh-m148/ ).

Many older and out of service onshore wind turbines remain in place, being environmental hazards with the risk of blades falling off and with apparently no enforceable legal responsibility for anyone to dismantle and remove not only the turbines but also the concrete foundations.

We must have a reliable electricity supply. It is thus necessary to have power stations that can provide the quantity of electricity required until new reliable and low carbon sources are available. Low carbon power stations (with carbon capture facilities) need to be built including Nuclear SMR’s (Small Modular Reactors).

Nuclear power plants are of course highly controversial considering that accidents can occur. Of the commercial plant accidents only Chernobyl (1986) resulted in loss of life due to direct radiation (source: https://world-nuclear.org).  More modern plants have considerably minimized risks. We do at the moment import significant amount of electricity from France where over 80% of their electricity is generated by Nuclear Power.

Solar power is  part of the solution. Why are compulsory roof solar panels not part of building regulations for new built domestic & industrial properties? There are big opportunities for local generation and storage (using batteries) of electricity using existing and future buildings.

Why is there still no minimum EPC (Energy Performance Certificate)  requirement for new built homes? Surely this should be a mandatory requirement.

Under pressure from lobby groups this government and the shadow government have once again taken the wrong decisions. This is why our electricity generation system is often close to breakdown and we are increasingly dependent on importing electricity from sources that could stop supply at any time.

We all know that we have to change to a more environmentally friendly world however we need to ensure that our politicians take the right decisions to preserve our precious countryside (including our area of West Devon), in addition to ensuring a secure supply of electricity.