Renewable Energy

wind turbines at sea

This wind farm won't harm the surf. The waves at Porthcawl are powerful - they have travelled across the Atlantic. They also have a long average wavelength which means that they are physically big. To absorb or diffract any noticeable amount of their energy would take an enormous obstruction. The wind farm is simply not big enough to have a significant effect on the power of the waves. Even with the biggest of the foundations (concrete gravity foundations which use blocks around 3m high) the waves simply won't 'notice' that there is an obstruction. The turbines are so widely spaced (each one at least a third of a mile apart) that from the waves point of view over 98 % of the wind farm is just open sea!

Porthcawl is a significant surfing location and an important part of the UK surf scene and industry. The wind farm at Scarweather Sands will in no way undermine this. In fact it is part of an important shift to clean energy in the UK that will help tackle climate change (that threatens all our beaches) and marine pollution - so it is good for water users and the environment.

Greenpeace has joined forces with Friends of the Earth and WWF to develop an interactive, pro-wind website. www.yes2wind.com has been developed to help you actively support the development of clean, renewable energy in your area.

The government is committed to producing 10%of the UK's electricity from renewable sources by 2010. Despite this step forward, many UK wind farm proposals are failing to get planning permission because of a small yet vocal minority. 75% of people in the UK support the development of wind power, but those speaking out against wind are being heard the most. You can help turn this around by logging onto www.yes2wind.com

Choose Positive Energy petition hand in

Greenpeace and The Body Shop presented 1,602,489 signatures to the Earth Summit in the form of an interactive mural calling upon delegates to agree to get clean, reliable, renewable energy into the hands of 2 billion of the world's poorest people by 2010.

Greenpeace and The Body Shop teamed up about a year ago to create the Choose Positive Energy Campaign, launched in January of this year. The demand: that governments vastly expand renewable energy for people across the world - the industrialised governments should expand their renewable energy supplies and all governments should commit to providing small-scale renewable solutions like solar and wind power, small-scale hydro, and biomass, to the world's poorest.

Islay wave bus logo

What is Argyll and the Islands Enterprise (AIE)?
Argyll and the Islands Enterprise is the local enterprise company. AIE is part of the Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) network which consists of a strategic office based in Inverness and 10 local enterprise companies. HIE is the government economic development agency for northern Scotland, including Argyll.