Hot from the editing suite at The Hub, here's the promotional video the EcoIsland team were displaying on the big screens at the Isle of Wight festival at the weekend:
David Hunt has a degree in Archaeology, but couldn't find a job here in the UK. Now he lives and works in the city of Lódz in central Poland. There he teaches English as a foreign language! Here he writes a guest blog post for econnexus.org.uk, all about a recent canoeing expedition he took part in along the river Pilica:
On the 23rd of June 2012, residents of the small yet picturesque town of Sulejów, Poland, took action in the form of peaceful protest by the STOP ODPADOM movement against plans to construct a privately owned landfill site* close to the town’s main river and a number of residential areas. The area of renowned natural beauty could potentially be subject to radioactive contamination, which needless to say poses hazards not only to the wildlife nearby but the thousands of people who make use of the water source (including residents of the nearby city of Lódz).
View of one of the lakes situated close to the proposed landfill (Image by K. Domoslawska)
The protest itself saw hundreds of daring residents (including young children) canoe down the river Pilica waving banners, playing guitars, singing songs, lighting torches and in general expressing their dissatisfaction with the aforementioned plans. The protest was met by countless more residents who lined the banks of the river and its main bridge, all showing their support for the hardy souls who had spent the last 6 hours in canoes, chanting their lungs out and in general getting rather wet and hungry!
A handful of protesters approach the town’s central bridge before dusk (Image by K. Wilga)
The evening of June 23rd was special for another reason however. In Poland, the transition between the 23rd and 24th of June is known as Noc Swietojanska/ Noc Kupaly. Long standing beliefs connected with water, fertility and purification have become the foundation for a number of rituals which have transformed over the years to include some of the following traditions which occur on this night:
Girls will make wreaths of flowers which are placed on rivers (often with a central candle) and left to drift down. The purpose of this is supposedly to give insight into the girl in question’s marital future. It is believed that if the “right man” collects a wreath from the water, then his and the wreath’s creator’s futures are forever intertwined!
Bonfires and lanterns are lit in connection with marriage rituals and other such activities. In general fire is important for atmosphere on this night, as in many other pagan celebrations around the world.
A view of the spectacular lights from one of the canoes (Image by K. Domoslawska)
The result of these rituals turned what may have started as a simple protest into something truly magical. As dusk approached the river became blanketed with fog, meaning the procession of canoes was lit (and led) solely by drifting candles and torches being wielded by fellow protesters, as well as the chants and string music that filled the air. Numerous space-bound lanterns also gave us some indication of where the edge of the river was. It felt totally surreal and very primal! The experience I think brought everyone closer to understanding water’s significance in our lives, now and throughout time.
Although initially met with approval by the local Mayor, the results of the protest still hinge on the action of district government members who have to be honest, taken their sweet time in addressing the potential hazards that this landfill will pose. A petition which has so far been signed by over 50% of the town’s population has still not been enough to deter the powers that be from their intended course of action. We should know the results of our efforts by the end of the week.
Lanterns being released by onlookers (Image by K. Domoslawska)
Protesters in action! (Image by Klaudia Wilga)
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Finally, and by way of contrast, here's how they celebrate "St. John's Night" in the big city:
* Substances such as mercury, asbestos and arsenic will be present at the landfill, which happens to be situated in an elevated position that could cause a run-off effect through alluvial processes.
Jeremy Ebdon – Teignbridge DC Planning Department
Brendan Clarke – Lightsource Renewable Energy
Dear Sirs,
My continued requests for information from the Teignbridge District Council planning department have so far elicited no response from the officer dealing with the Bowhay Farm Solar PV project. As I am sure you must be aware, time is of the essence in these matters. I would be extremely grateful if somebody could get back to me as soon as possible to answer a few queries I have after reading all the documentation available online concerning the SO application.
If you've had a chance to read my blog you'll know that I'm very interested in planning issues both ancient and modern. Ever since I was informed that some Samian ware had been unearthed in my back garden I've wondered what route or routes the ancient Romans might have taken on their forays westwards over the Haldon Hills from Isca Dumnoniorum. I've also wondered what local landscape features Roman planners might have taken into consideration when deciding where best to locate their signal stations. If modern day planning experts can throw any light on these ancient conundrums I'd be delighted to hear their opinions on that topic also.
I've recently returned from Shillingford St. George, where I sat at the front of the packed village hall whilst Penny and Brendan from Lightsource explained the virtues of generating 12.3 MW of renewable energy on grade 2 agricultural land just north of Dunchideock. I did enquire if it would be OK for me to record the proceedings on my trusty Sony Handycam, or even just a still camera. Lightsource informed me that they weren't "comfortable" with that idea. The lady sat next to me informed me that she thought "that's a pity". That is indeed a pity, because it means a more "in depth" report will have to wait for another day, always assuming that I can successfully decipher my hastily scribbled notes.
Later on it was also a pity that in response to a question from the floor Lightsource said they weren't comfortable with a show of hands of "fors" and "againsts". Apparently such things can intimidate people into casting a "vote" that does not reflect their true opinion. Whilst there was certainly one speaker from the floor strongly in favour of the project, in my humble opinion most of the speakers were against it. As for the "silent majority", we may never know but Lightsource ought to. They asked everyone to fill in a feedback form, which I duly did. I ticked the "opposed" box, and I explained why. Whilst I did learn some interesting new things at the meeting, and I met some interesting new people too, I didn't learn anything significantly new from Lightsource. You'll hear more from me about all that at a later date, but earlier today I did learn some relevant new information from people more expert in the field of solar PV than me.
I have of course read the "Zero Carbon Britain 2030" report, which says (amongst other things) that:
[Solar PV] energy is generated primarily in the summer, which clashes with our peak consumption which is highest on long, sunless winter nights. Therefore in the UK solar PV is mainly appropriate to those who are off grid and without a suitable wind or other resource.
That didn't sound very positive for a large on grid project like Bowhay Farm, so I asked ZCB what their latest guidance is on such things. They responded as follows:
When the previous version of ZCB was written, it was not thought that it would be economic to make PV a major part of our energy mix because it was too expensive. However, as prices have fallen dramatically, I think we will need to review this position. Even the government now talks about 20GW of solar PV in the UK. Having solar in the energy mix would be good in terms of balancing supply and demand because it makes us less dependent on wind variations, and because generally solar output is highest at the time of the day when the overall UK demand is high (middle of the day). So purely from an energy perspective I would say that, while the previous report did not put much weight on solar, we strongly support it. Shillingford Abbot also has an excellent solar resource, around 1000kWh/kW/yr.
With open field, ground mounted PV systems, the one concern would be the land use implications. In ZCB we recognise that we will need to use a lot of high quality land for growing food. Compared to wind power, solar PV requires a large amount of land per energy produced – a 54 acre 12MW solar PV farm will produce the same amount of electricity as three large wind turbines (which take away almost no land from food production). So on a larger scale, putting solar farms on prime agricultural land that could be used for food production is problematic.
Not quite so bad perhaps, but still an "against" it seems to me. Earlier today I also had the privilege of speaking with David Green, the visionary founder of the EcoIsland Partnership on the Isle of Wight. More on other topics that David and I discussed will have to wait until a later date also. Needless to say at one point during the conversation we did turn to the thorny topic of large scale solar PV farms in the southern United Kingdom. David told me that in his opinion:
Given the choice solar PV should be on roofs, not on arable land.
Another tick in the "against" column, although as I mentioned on my own feedback form, it's important to try to keep an open mind on these vital issues until all the relevant "evidence" and "opinions" have been assembled and duly considered.
The person I'm assured I need to speak to in the planning department of Teignbridge council still hasn't replied to any of my phone calls or my email. With this evening's meeting with Lightsource looming I thought I'd pose one of my planning related questions here, to see if anyone else knows the answer. On page 4 of Lightsource's request for a screening opinion it states:
In effect the potential impacts associated with any solar farm are primarily limited to the visual changes. In discussion of this particular development, it is considered that the site may (depending on extent of mitigation) be visible to three residential buildings, and from two small areas of public highway. In the context of the wider landscape, this is not considered a visual impact that extends beyond the local context.
Here are some views that I snapped on my mobile phone earlier this week, taken in the direction of the proposed 54 acre Bowhay Farm solar park from three different "small areas of public highway" in the vicinity. Is this in any way significant?
The view from Underdown
The view from Haldon Hill
The view from just above the Ide "Roman signal station"
Plans to build a solar farm near Exeter have been opposed by some residents.
Regular readers please note that the residents in this case live west of Exeter near Tedburn St. Mary, not south of Exeter between Ide and Dunchideock. According to the BBC once more, this solar park has been proposed by Inazin Solar, and they say that:
The farm would generate enough power for 1,700 homes and save more than 4,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
Click here to watch the report, in which Scott Bingham of BBC Spotlight says (amongst other things) that:
Campaigners are concerned about the impact the site will have on the landscape, They feel the scheme is just too big
Please also note that the proposed solar farm at Gold Cross Hill occupies 40 acres, and:
Teignbridge planners will consider the application later this month
I've no idea as yet who put it there, but yesterday I discovered this leaflet in my porch:
Notice of proposed 54 acre 12.3 MW solar farm near Shillingford Abbot
This morning I checked out the planning reference number quoted at the bottom, and quite a few relevant documents can be found on the Teignbridge Council website. It seems at this stage that Lightsource Renewable Energy have requested the council's opinion on whether a future planning application for a proposed 54 acre, 12.3 MW solar farm just outside Shillingford Abbot near Exeter will require an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA for short). As far as I can tell from a quick scan of the documents the council's opinion is that in this case an EIA won't be needed.
All this is of huge interest to me personally since my "day job" involves designing components for "smart grids", amongst other things. In addition (and also amongst other things!) I'm concerned about climate change, I'm concerned about energy security, I'm concerned about food security and I'm concerned about our local archaeological heritage. If any of this is of interest or concern to you too please feel free to add your comments below.
The last few days have seen a number of announcements which may ultimately help to "revolutionize transportation"!
Firstly General Electric have just announced the pedestal version of their WattStation™ electric vehicle charging station:
Along with the hardware itself GE are also rolling out a software platform, known as WattStation Connect. Mobile phone apps will shortly be available for iPhone and Android users which will allow them to locate the closest charging station when their EV's batteries are running low. Not only that, but the app will also monitor the charging process and provide the means to pay for the energy transferred. Here's a detailed introduction to the functionality of the web based WattStation Connect platform:
Chris Rogue and Stress Together on the Streets of Exeter
I first bumped into Chris Rogue in cyberspace, when we were both "tweeting" simultaneously using the #OccupyExeter hashtag. Here's an extract from that conversation:
@Rogue1210 – U #OccupyExeter arseholes take the piss. U cnt stamp out capitalism by fkin over the homeless!
@jim_hunt – Why do you say that Chris? How exactly are #OccupyExeter "fkin over the homeless"?
@Rogue1210 – #OccupyExeter is in the wrong place. Southernhay is where the private banks an RBS is. y nt there?
Following that exchange I figured talking to each other in person might be more productive, so I packed a handycam into my rucksack then searched for Chris on the streets of Exeter. To watch and listen to the resulting interview, please click here.
The COP17 climate change conference in Durban finally finished on Sunday a day and a half late. According to the final press release it:
Delivered a breakthrough on the future of the international community's response to climate change, whilst recognizing the urgent need to raise their collective level of ambition to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to keep the average global temperature rise below two degrees Celsius.
The press release itemises the "breakthrough" decisions as follows:
Governments decided to adopt a universal legal agreement on climate change as soon as possible, but not later than 2015. Work will begin on this immediately under a new group called the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action.
Governments, including 35 industrialised countries, agreed a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol from January 1, 2013. To achieve rapid clarity, Parties to this second period will turn their economy-wide targets into quantified emission limitation or reduction objectives and submit them for review by May 1, 2012.