I spent last weekend in the Suffolk town of Aldeburgh - unique for its Martello Tower; river (which runs parallel to the sea for 10 miles); and for its curious position in the renewable energy debate. Aldeburgh sits two miles south of Sizewell, where the government has just given the go-ahead (and secured funding) for a third nuclear power station. Sizewell A was decommissioned in 2006, but Sizewell B remains in operation, producing 1198 MW of energy to the National Grid per year, enough for about 2.3 million homes. The plans suggest Sizewell C will be quite a lot larger, contributing energy for 6 million homes. But the local residents are not happy about it. All over Aldeburgh there are signs proclaiming it’s not too late to stop the doomsday event that will occur if Sizewell C goes ahead (although with funding secured, at this stage I feel these protests may be fruitless).
But Sizwell is not the only energy behemoth to grace the Suffolk coastline. About 14 miles out to sea (and visible from Aldeburgh on clear days) are the Greater Gabbard and Galloper Wind Farms, which together boast over 200 turbines and are capable of generating 900 MW of power. Proposals to expand the wind farm up the coast (towards Sizewell) are being met with the same sort of negativity as the nuclear power station.
The residents of Aldeburgh are currently more concerned about the local otter population than they are about the provision of electricity - although perhaps their priorities will change if the lights go out this winter. With the energy price cap due to rise £3549 in October many of those opposing the UK’s alternative energy solutions are looking at a hefty increase in their energy bills as the price of oil and gas soars.
One of the big problems with the current energy crisis is that alternative providers are needed now, but none of the proposed solutions can provide energy immediately. Sizewell B got its full planning permission in 1987, but the finished power station was not connected to the grid until 1995. Aldeburgh’s wind farms took three years after building work started to begin providing energy to households. It’s unlikely that either of the big projects currently causing consternation in rural Suffolk will be ready to provide power to people’s homes for the best part of five years and the nuclear…
