Video of a bird being killed by the moving blades of a wind turbine was shown to an audience of 100 people at a wind farm protest meeting near Burnham-On-Sea on Thursday evening (November 4th).
Campaigners claimed the video illustrates how the 14 proposed turbines on land for East Huntspill “could threaten wild birds” in the Burnham area.
The video – which Burnham-On-Sea.com has embedded on the right – came with a warning that it should not be watched by those who are squeamish. It shows a bird being struck by a blade before falling to the base of the turbine.
John Wakefield from the West Huntspill Action Group warned: “Here on the levels, we have an awful lot of birds that fly out towards the Bristol Channel and migrate.”
“If we have 14 turbines here, there will be a wall across our countryside. Bear in mind that the birds fly at the same height as these proposed turbines.”
Power firms EDF and Ecotricity – who want to build nine wind turbines at West Huntspill and a further five near East Huntspill – are adamant that the risk to wildlife is minimal.
Ecotricity spokesman Mike Cheshire said earlier this year that when built in the right location, wind farms have “no negative impact on wildlife.”
Further video footage of a wind turbine collapsing was also shown to the residents during the meeting.
Mr Wakefield used a map to show the audience where the proposed wind turbines would be situated in relation to the M5 and existing homes. He described how the huge turbines “would tower over the countryside”.
The meeting, held in Puriton Village Hall, attracted residents from across the area to hear the latest developments. No planning application has yet been submitted, but this is expected soon.
EDF says its nine 2MW turbines would be capable of producing enough electricity to supply the annual requirements of over 10,000 homes and could lead to savings of at least 17,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide every year.
Pictured above are campaigners Brian Crosby, John Wakefield and Julie Trott with local councillors Mark Healey and Paul Herbert at Thursday’s meeting
