A New Wind Farm
Activity 17 - A New Wind Farm for Sutherland
Background for teachers
In this activity pupils investigate the potential impacts of a proposed wind farm on a peatland site in Sutherland valued for its habitat and landscape. Please note this is an imaginary site. The different views of interested parties are considered. Two activities are suggested: pupils have the opportunity to compose and deliver a talk and discuss the issues within their class or do a written exercise.
Curriculum
Geography Standard Grade
The Physical Environment: competing demands for the use of rural landscapes.
Geography Intermediate 1 and 2
Physical Environments
Geography Higher Grade
Environmental Interactions: rural land resources – environmental problems and conflicts.
Managing Environmental Resources Intermediate 1
Effects of human activity on the environment
Managing Environmental Resources Intermediate 2
Natural Resource Use
Managing Environmental Resources Higher
Natural Resource Use: environmental impacts of energy sources
Curriculum for Excellence
This activity will help pupils achieve the four capacities of learning by:
- encouraging enthusiasm and motivation for learning;
- encouraging openness to new thinking and ideas;
- use of literacy and communication skills;
- use of technology for learning;
- thinking creatively and independently;
- making reasoned evaluations;
- making informed choices and decisions;
- evaluating environmental issues;
- communicating in different ways;
- applying critical thinking in new contexts;
- working in partnership and in teams, and
- creating and developing.
Ages
14-18 years
ACTIVITY 1
Procedure
A public meeting is being held to discuss a proposed wind farm in Sutherland. The proposed site is on peatlands which are currently undamaged by any development, although they are overgrazed.
The proposed wind farm would have 180 wind turbines, each 140 m tall; 30 km of overhead electric cable supported by 135 pylons, each 27 m high and access roads.
A representative of the wind farm construction company will be giving a presentation to the meeting and members of the public are invited to respond giving their points of view on whether the wind farm development should go ahead. Divide pupils in the class into four groups (5 minutes).
Invite each group to prepare a five minute presentation giving the points of view of either:
- the wind farm construction company
- local residents who support the wind farm
- local residents who are against the wind farm
- a governmental environment advisor
Give pupils 10-15 minutes to read the text boxes (see below). If pupils have sufficient internet access they can also research the relevant weblinks (see below).
Pupils then discuss within the groups the content of their talk (ten minutes), They will need to decide:
- the key points they wish to make
- the spokesperson for their group
Pupils then deliver their talks to the rest of the class. Tell pupils in advance they will need to listen carefully as they will have to decide whether the wind farm should go ahead or not depending on what they think of the viewpoints made by the speakers (20 minutes).
After the talks a class discussion can be held on the future of the wind farm development, alternatively pupils can be asked to write a paragraph giving their personal view on the future of the wind farm (10 minutes).
A class vote using a show of hands can be used to indicate whether the wind farm should go ahead or not.
Invite pupils to give their opinions on the quality of each of the talks.
Which of the presentations did they think were particularly convincing?
Did any of the presentations change their views of wind farms and why?
Which, if any, of the presentations were unconvincing and how do they think these could have been improved? (10 minutes)
ACTIVITY 2
Procedure
Invite pupils to write an article for a serious newspaper article about the proposed wind farm development in Sutherland. The proposed site is on peatlands which are currently undamaged by any development, although they are overgrazed.
The proposed wind farm would have 180 wind turbines, each 140 metres tall; 30 kilometres of overhead electric cable supported by 135 pylons, each 27 m high and access roads.
In their article they should provide:
- a description of the proposed wind farm and its location
- as many different viewpoints on the wind farm as they can find
- viewpoints should include those of
- the wind farm construction company
- local residents who are in favour of the wind farm
- local residents who are against the wind farm
- a government environmental advisor
- a discussion of the arguments for and against the wind farm
- a conclusion on whether they think the wind farm should go ahead.
They will need to consider which photos they would like to use to illustrate their article and an eye-catching headline for their article to encourage people to read it.
The websites and text boxes given below will help pupils’ research.
Websites
- Peatlands (sometimes called boglands)
www.snh.org.uk/publications/on-line/livinglandscapes/boglands/ - www.bbc.co.uk/climate/adaptation/wind_power.shtml
Text boxes
For the wind farm
- The wind farm would provide clean energy as it would not produce air pollution or waste and would not contribute to climate change, apart from the carbon released during manufacture and installation.
- The wind farm would produce renewable energy which will still be available when non-renewable sources of energy such as fossil fuel have run out.
- It would generate electricity more cheaply than energy generated by nuclear power.
- It would create local jobs and so contribute to the local economy.
- It would encourage tourism. A wind farm with a viewing platform in Norfolk attracts 35,000 visitors a year, for example.
- Wind energy is safe and popular. Opinion surveys show that just over eight out of ten people are in favour of wind energy, and less than one in ten are against it.
- New wind turbines are much quieter nowadays.
- Each wind turbine would only cover a small area of land.
Against the wind farm
- The wind farm may damage the peatlands by altering the water pattern and soil make-up. If they were damaged, it would not be possible to restore the peatlands in the future. Scotland is internationally important for peatlands, which are found in only a few areas in the world.
- Access tracks and connections to the electricity grid can also damage the peatland.
- The peatland is a valuable store of carbon, especially as there has been no development on the site so far. Building a wind farm would disturb the peatland and some carbon (although only a relatively small amount) would be released into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change.
- Bird habitats may be lost or damaged. Birds may fly into the turbine blades.
- The wind farm, access tracks and connections to the electricity grid would spoil the existing wild landscape, especially as there are no other visible manmade features in the area.
- The wind farm would be seen from very long distances as the plan is to build it on a ridge top, the windiest place.
- Access tracks would take up a considerable area of peatland habitat.
- The peatland site is currently threatened by overgrazing. Building a wind farm there would be an additional threat. When taken together these two threats are likely to produce more significant impacts than if acting alone and impacts which may build over time. This is known as a cumulative effect.