Eileen West has a strange object in her home in Aberdeenshire – a scale model of a huge electricity pylon, built as part of a local campaign against the “monstrous” metal structures.
A new pylon line is proposed just a few hundred metres from her home. The steel towers will typically be 187ft (57m) high – significantly taller than most pylons in Scotland. Some could be as high as 246ft (75m).
They are part of a planned 66-mile (106km) route – between the town of Kintore and the village of Tealing – to transfer power from wind farms off the north-east coast of Scotland to where the electricity is needed.
“I think we’re being sacrificed,” says Eileen, a member of Deeside Against Pylons.
The plans are part of one of the government’s key missions, a drive to decarbonise the UK’s electricity system by 2030. Just over half of our power currently comes from wind, solar, nuclear and biomass – organic matter. The government wants to raise that to 95% by 2030 – just five years’ time.
The target is ambitious, and controversial. Energy Secretary, Ed Miliband, told the BBC it is essential to “cut bills, tackle the climate crisis and give us energy security”.
But are local concerns being overlooked to meet national objectives?
BBC Panorama has travelled across the UK – to Aberdeenshire, Lincolnshire and Suffolk – to hear from people in landscapes bracing for change, including Oscar-nominated actor Ralph Fiennes.
Source:
www.bbc.com
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