Crockham Hill September 2023 Newsletter - Flipbook - Page 40
Last Word
A regular slot for villagers to present an informed and perhaps a
provocative viewpoint on an important issue. Vivienne Cox has provided a
perspective on wind energy. If you would like to comment on this article or
any other aspect of the newsletter we welcome your letters to the editor(s)
– please send to mike@theoashouse.com.
Windmills of the past and future
Vivienne Cox
In years gone by there was a windmill in Crockham Hill on the hill above
Froghole in the land owned by the aptly named Windmill Bank, and the
outline of its shape can be seen in times of drought from an arial view.
There was also a windmill in
Limpsfield Chart, and its
passing is mourned by many.
Who knows, when these were
first built, whether these were
seen as eyesores or as valued
innovations to ease the
struggle of the hand-tomouth existence of our
ancestors?
Limpsfield Chart Windmill
There is no doubt that surviving traditional windmills are revered and loved
by all where they still exist. Not so, the modern wind turbines that stride
across our shores, seas and windy moors around England. These ‘white
satanic mills’ generate huge controversy, where they dramatically alter
beloved landscapes and sea views. However, their critics cannot deny that
wind energy now provides some 24% of total energy produced in the UK,
and the need for renewable, UK based energy is ever more acute with the
current Ukraine conflict.
There is a commitment by the current government to double the capacity
for on and offshore wind-generated power by 2030. I propose that some
of this onshore expansion could be directed toward harvesting an
untapped resource: wind turbulence generated by traffic on busy roads.
The UK has 2,300 miles of motorway and 29,500 miles of ‘A' road. Anyone
who has had the misfortune to experience a car breakdown on one of these
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