Wendy not only recorded the interview but also edited the recording and transcribed it for those of you who do not have the benefit of speakers on your computers. Those of you with speakers can listen to the interview near the top of the article – Ed
Very many thanks to VentnorBlog contributor Wendy Varley for taking time out of her busy schedule to interview Kerri Trickey, a 19-year old from Newport, who is taking on ThWART (The Wight Against Rural Turbines) with the Island Turbine Action Group.
Kerri Trickey Interview
The Island Turbine Action Group has attracted nearly 150 members in less than a week and has just launched its own website.
I caught up with Kerri for VentnorBlog to ask why she felt compelled to spearhead the “pro” lobby. [audio:http://otw-audio.s3.amazonaws.com/kerry-trickey-island-turbine-action-group.mp3]
VentnorBlog: What prompted you to set up the Island Turbine Action Group?
Kerri Trickey: The whole point of this is that the Isle of Wight is such a beautiful place, and there’s so much publicity about how ugly they [wind turbines] are, and how they’ll spoil the views, but there’s so much opinion out there as well that they won’t, and they’re really breathtaking. Seeing as it’s the point that they’re really ugly that seems to be driving groups like ThWART against them, it doesn’t really seem fair that the other side isn’t being heard.
VB: Why do you want turbines on the Isle of Wight?
KT: Because they’re a good source of renewable energy. That’s basically it. And it’s suitable for the Island. People say they’re not but they really are, and it’s unfair that a whole group of people who are shouting the loudest are making up”¦ it just seems like they are making up reasons, excuses, not to have turbines when really it’s just because they say they’ll spoil the view and that’s it. It’s very selfish, I think, not to have turbines.
VB: Do you think you’d feel the same way if they were being proposed near to your own house?
KT: I think they’re really breathtaking and I would love one near where I lived. If I lived in Shorwell I would be absolutely for it.
VB: Have you actually visited any wind farms?
KT: I haven’t myself, no. But from pictures and videos and things I think they’re completely brilliant and I just love them.
VB: Was the pro-turbine group your idea or how did it start?
KT: It was originally my idea but I have help from a couple of close friends – Jennifer Mckean and I are working on it together at the moment and it’s going really well.
VB: The application for three large turbines on Cheverton Down has just gone in so how will you be involved in responding to that?
KT: We’re on the Island council consultation list, so we’ll have a look at the proposals and then comment on them. And we’ll obviously be revving up all our members to write in support of this as well and get as much support as we can for them, because no matter what the proposals put in for turbines on the island we’re going to be behind them.
VB: Have you looked at what the average wind speeds are on Cheverton Down?
KT: I’m not sure about the average wind speed on Cheverton Down, but the wind speed is actually very low to get the turbines moving, and to be honest I think it will be very rare that the wind will be that low – I think it’s 4 metres per second”¦
I mean, up on Cheverton down it’s windy, isn’t it?! If you go up there yourself, there’s always going to be wind. And the consequences of a wind turbine not working at full capacity are so much less serious than if a nuclear power plant went down, or something like that.
VB: Have you looked at the carbon payback time issue, because the blades might be made on the Island at Vestas which is good for the local economy, but other components might come from as far afield as Asia?
KT: I’ve had a quick look at that and I know that ThWART would like us to believe that it would never be paid back, but actually, over its lifetime a wind turbine will apparently produce 30 times the amount of energy that it will cost in its manufacture. So that’s absolutely brilliant, I don’t think you can argue against that.
VB: You have already mentioned a bit about how you personally find them stunning, but what about the landscape issue? A big chunk of the Isle of Wight is designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, including the area where the Cheverton turbines would be sited. Do you actually think turbines should belong in those areas?
KT: That’s a difficult one, because it is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, but because so much of the Island is AONB, we can put turbines in one place, and if people want to look at turbines they can go there, and if they don’t there are other areas they can look at.
I mean, people say that these will drive away tourists, and we’ll never see another tourist again! But in fact they’re quite popular amongst tourists and in Swaffham [in Norfolk] more than 50,000 tourists have visited the wind farms there, and they have a wind turbine tower so you can actually view from 65 metres up, and I think if we actually incorporate something like that we can make the most of the views instead of saying that they’ll be destroyed.
VB: I know on Saturday Shorwell Against Turbines had its inaugural meeting, which was very much an “anti” agenda, obviously, and you went along to that. How did you find it?
KT: It seemed quite well-organised. But the main concern I had was because there weren’t any “pro” people there and there wasn’t any kind of independent party there, any facts that were blatantly wrong would have been passed around as fact and people would have started to believe them without them being refuted.
One thing they said was that turbines will drive away birds and wildlife from the area, but the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds are totally behind wind power. So I fail to see how if a society like that is behind turbines, then they will drive away birds. So that was one thing they said that was completely wrong.
VB: I went to the ThWART meeting in Shorwell in October and one thing I noticed was”¦ it was very much a middle aged/elderly group. Was that the same on Saturday?
KT: Very much so. There’s definitely a generational issue here.
VB: That’s what I wondered. I mean, do you find that among your friends that there’s a more”¦ that the younger generation either sees turbines as more beautiful, or more useful, or what?
KT: Yes, I think in the younger generations”¦ I mean a lot of our members are young people at university and they just seem”¦ I’m not sure exactly why there’s such a generational difference because we’re all being exposed to the same information. But it just seems that perhaps the older generations are more set in their ways and”¦ that’s a difficult one. Younger people are perhaps more open-minded, just less set in their ways really. I think that just might be it.
VB: Have you been involved in any other environmental campaigns or is this your first?
KT: No”¦ this is my first, it’s going well so far, so hopefully we can have a success with these proposals.
VB: What made you want to spearhead it. Was there something particular that made you think: I’ve got to do something about it?
KT: It just seemed to build up really. Every time someone proposes turbines and they get rejected by a council that is so far behind renewable energy – it’s just not. It’s so hypocritical and it’s an inappropriate way to behave. Don’t say you’re behind renewable energy and then reject every proposal for it. So I’m just trying to open people’s eyes and say, don’t just listen to the people that shout the loudest, which seems to be ThWART at the moment.
They [wind turbines] are actually very useful, and look at the facts before you make up your mind. There doesn’t seem to be support for turbines, so we hope that – well, maybe that’s why people don’t speak out because they don’t think that their opinions are right or they don’t think that anyone else will be behind them. But hopefully this will make people think: maybe they actually are okay.
VB: You want people to have the courage to say what they think, if that is what they think
KT: Yes, it’s much easier to say okay, I support this group than start your own group, isn’t it? So hopefully that is what people will do. Even by joining the group or signing the petition, that’s a big difference, instead of starting your own group and campaigning by yourself. You can just sign the petition and that’s fine. Every signature counts.
The Island Turbine Action Group’s petition for wind turbines on the Isle of Wight can also be found online.
Thanks again to Wendy for doing this interview. If you feel the urge to get involved with the news, just get in touch with us – Ed.
