OPPONENTS of the proposed nine three-bladed wind turbines in the Den Brook Valley have challenged the developers to answer fears that the blades of the proposed development could badly affect TV reception for thousands of residents in the surrounding area. In an open letter to developers Renewable Energy Systems, Maureen Thomson, chairman of Den Brook Valley Action Group say the residents of up to 3,000 homes in North Tawton, South Tawton, Bow and Spreyton should know exactly what they can expect if the plan is approved. Renewable Energy Systems say their research indicates disruption of TV signals is unlikely to be a problem at the site. The letter quotes from the developers? planning application which states the wind farm has ?the potential for causing interference to television reception.? Mrs Thomson said she wanted the developers to answer precisely a series of questions set out in the letter. She said RES should specify how many households they expected to suffer poor TV reception as a direct result of the wind farm, how much money the developers had set aside to carry out ?mitigation measures? to correct the problem and how long it would take for these measures to be carried out. ?We are asking RES to give very precise answers to a few very simple questions. In their planning application they talk only in general terms,? said Mrs Thomson. ?That is just not good enough. There are no hard facts. People want and need to know how many households will suffer, for how long, and how much money RES have set aside to get their TV reception restored.? Mrs Thomson?s letter cites cases in Yorkshire and Wales where residents complained about disruption to their TV signals after wind farms were built nearby. Rachel Ruffle, project manager for the scheme said: ?The fact that wind turbines can cause TV interference is well known. It is also predictable and easily remedied. ?For Den Brook, RES has performed a full technical assessment through prediction modeling of the scale and location of TV interference that might occur as a result of the wind farm.? Mrs Ruffle said the model predicted there would be ?no widespread interference? to TV reception, although isolated instances of interference could never be ruled out where a house has its aerial misaligned with the TV transmitter. Mrs Ruffle added: ?In order to safeguard TV reception, we are suggesting to the planning authority that they should enter an agreement with RES to meet the cost of investigating and rectifying any problems that may arise? which, she said, was standard for all wind farms in the UK. l See story on page 3.
