Revolt news219 of 19.2.07 and other issues are sent bcc and free. To subscribe or unsubscribe simply email me. Email addresses which fail for three consecutive issues will be removed in any case. For further information please see . For your convenience ... these news issues are usually in plain text because attachments may take time to receive and may be difficult for some to open. We try to keep it simple. There has been an unusual gap since the last revolt news, as there were not many items. 1. Snips from news@all-energy 79, 80 and 81 of January-February are at APPENDIX A. Items from news 81 float prospects of undersea power links from the Hebrides via Kintyre and Ayrshire. 2. A major windfarm proposal on the Isle of Lewis has been cut back (APPENDIX B). At the same time, SSE have launched consultations on new power lines to connect Lewis windfarms to the mainland grid. There is a cart-before-horse issue which seems to fly in the face of EU Directive 97/11/EC which requires that Environmental Impact Assessments should assess the aggregate impact of the whole of such developments together. I am writing to the Scottish Executive to protest. The windfarm proposal received local planning approval last week and will now pass to the Scottish Executive for decision. 3. Dr George Carlo is to address MPs on 22 Feb on the subject of long- term health effects from mobile phones, masts etc. (APPENDIX C) 4. The Beauly-Denny powerline inquiry started in Perth this month. I hope to pass on reports shortly. I shall be involved in the health issue, which starts next week with the appearance of the US industrial consultant Dr William Bailey for the applicants. 5. The SAGE process has moved slowly since it stalled in December. An amended draft report has been issued to participants for comment this week, with an informal optional meeting to be held on 6-7 March with a view to a full meeting 25-26 April confirming the report. Participants have been told that, in the event of non-agreement, the latest draft will be submitted to government anyway! 6. A great splash was made of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report earlier this month. However it is not awaited the scientific report (the Fourth Assessment Report). It is a Summary for Policy Makers (SPM). Many organisations have links to it; I used the IPCC link . There has been much comment on the arrangement that the political summary is published first, and then the scientific report has to be vetted to be made consistent with the political summary. Hmm! The fallacious "hockey stick" graph has at last been (quietly) abandoned, without apology. There is a serious issue on risks of and from global warming, warranting both adaptation (preparing for the inevitable) and reduction of human emissions. For me the cause is hindered by hype and fallacy, but that certainly grabs the headlines. I suspect society would however respond better if there were more credibility and trust, which are not well served by hype and fallacy. ***** ***** APPENDIX A Snips from news@all-energy 79 of January 2007. 3.1.Distributed generation - ball in Government court Energy Networks Association has responded to the DTI's call for "evidence for the review of barriers and incentives to distributed electricity generation (DG), including combined heat and power"..... ENA now believes it is up to the Government and regulatory bodies to show it is serious about encouraging DG, which can help to reduce carbon emissions by increasing the usage of renewables 3.2.Long wait for Western Isles connection It could be 2014 before the Western Isles have a sufficiently strong connection to the national grid to export up to 1,000MW of green electricity expected to be generated in the Hebrides 3.3.The cost of Beauly-Denny Inquiry An anti-windfarm campaigner claims the public inquiry into a new Beauly to Denny pylon line will waste 11 months of people's time and at least £7m From issue No. 80: 4.1.IPCC diary date The next Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report is due out 2 February From issue no. 81: 4.1.Ofgem's new approach to RE funding Ofgem has suggested an alternative approach to the way the UK provides financial support to renewable electricity generation, confirming that the current mechanism is a very expensive way of reducing carbon emissions compared to other alternatives. It urged the government to consider a plan that promises to deliver more carbon reductions through renewable generation at a lower cost to domestic and business users 4.3.Kintyre-North Ayrshire link Scottish Hydro-Electric Transmission Limited (part of the Scottish and Southern Energy Group) is inviting local people to find out more about the company's proposals for a proposed new electrical link between the Kintyre peninsula and North Ayrshire 4.4.Taking the SW route Amec confirmed plans for connecting a massive proposed Lewis windfarm to the national grid via south-west Scotland rather than the Highlands 9.7.Teesside's green power station Plans for a massive new Teesside power station, believed to cost up to £500m, have been drawn up ***** ***** APPENDIX B Lewis windfarm and grid connections Extracts from Update from MWT: Winter 2006 LEWIS WINDPOWER On 12th December, Lewis Windpower submitted their revised proposal for its windfarm on Barvas Moor, North Lewis. Fifty three turbines have been removed from across the site, but at 181 turbines, it will still: • be one of the largest windfarms in Europe, and maybe the world? • be one of the most environmentally damaging schemes in Europe • dig up a carbon peat sink in the name of being environmentally friendly • ruin the quality of life for many Lewis people • ruin the livelihoods of tourism business vital to the local economy • ruin the habitat of many protected species From the details seen to date, the scheme has hardly changed. It will still be a monstrous industrialization of our culture, our lives, our moor. It will do nothing to support an interconnector (see below) and ruin the island forever, leaving an unwanted legacy for our children and theirs. Thousands of people objected last time - it is vital that people object again to let LWP and the Scottish Executive know that this 181 turbine project is still not acceptable. MWT will be continuing to campaign against the windfarm, and will be preparing information, distributing sample objection letters, and placing adverts in local papers. Information will also be posted on the MWT website: and we hope to have an on-line objection facility, direct to the Energy Consents Unit. Objections should be sent to "The Scottish Executive, Energy Consents Unit, 2nd Floor, Meridian Court, 5 Cadogan street, Glasgow, G2 6AT, or emailed to: Deadline for Objections: 29 January 2007 WESTERN ISLES GRID CONSULTATION On 13th December, Scottish and Southern Energy launched their consultation on the proposed grid upgrades to the Western Isles. This is not a planning application, but a consultation on the proposed routes across the mainland, and will provide information that Scottish and Southern will feed into any future planning application. The consultation documentation reveals some interesting information. The grid upgrade can only be progressed on the basis of firm grid connection agreements between developers and the grid provider. Currently, only Beinn Mhor Power, Eishken Estate and the Scottish and Southern, Pairc Estate proposal have such agreements. Lewis Windpower do not have a grid connection, and are currently not accommodated in the proposals. MWT have two questions: • Why, if the interconnector proposals are being progressed on the back of the windfarm on the Pairc Peninsula, have supporters of Lewis Windpower including Cllr Angus Nicolson, told us repeatedly that the LWP windfarm is vital? "If you believe in community windpower schemes, or you hope for wave or wind power off the west coast, then the interconnector must come. Without the Lewis Windpower scheme, this will not happen. No inter- connector - no community schemes - it is as simple as that". Cllr Angus Nicolson, Letter to Editor, Stornoway Gazette, 5 January 2006 The consultation is based primarily on 550MW's of connection agreements for the windfarms on the Pairc Peninsula. This includes an agreement for 300MW for the Beinn Mhor Power windfarm - almost twice the size of the windfarm they are currently applying to build. Does this indicate that Beinn Mhor Power are intending to expand the scheme again? Some may remember that earlier this year the scheme had to be cut to under half of its original size because of the unacceptable impact on Eagles. The Scottish and Southern consultation documentation can be accessed on: Deadline for submissions: 16 February 2007 ***** ***** APPENDIX C Dr George Carlo addressing MPs Combating the dangers of wireless technology "mobile phones, masts, wifi etc" The EM Radiation Research Trust are pleased to announce that Dr George Carlo has agreed to visit to the UK to address MPs at Westminster on Thursday 22nd February, 2007 And to meet Sir William Stewart, UK Health Protection Agency Chairman The meeting will be chaired by RRT Trustee - Dr Ian Gibson MP Committee Room 9 at Westminster, between 3 and 4pm on Thursday 22nd February, 2007 Please encourage your MPs to attend this important meeting. E-mail eileen@smokestackltd.co.uk to confirm attendance. Summary Biography (extracts) Dr. George L. Carlo Science and Public Policy Institute 1101 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. Washington, D.C. 20004 202-756-7744 www.sppionline.org www.safewireless.org Dr. George L. Carlo is a world recognized medical scientist, author and lawyer, presently the Chairman of the non-profit Science and Public Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. His career spans thirty years and more than 150 medical, scientific and public policy publications in the areas of public health, workplace safety and consumer protection. His most recent book, Cell Phones: Invisible Hazards in the Wireless Age, co-written with Washington syndicated columnist Martin Schram, is printed in seven languages and is the subject of a cinematic documentary due to be released in 2007. Dr. Carlo has been listed in Who's Who in the World, Who's Who in the East, Who's Who in Science and Engineering, Who's Who in Executives and Professionals, and Who's Who in Medicine and Health Care. He has received various commendations and awards, and has served on a variety of federal and state government commissions and advisory panels. Dr. Carlo's current focus is the Safe Wireless Initiative project, addressing the dangers of wireless technology and the implementation of appropriate corrective interventions. He has training in pathology, epidemiology, medical science and law, is a Fellow of the American College of Epidemiology, and has served on the medical faculties of The George Washington University, the University of Arkansas and the State University of New York at Buffalo. www.radiationresearch.org ***** ***** -- Mike O'Carroll