Turbine overtowers all of Reading - UK

Amid all the glossy publicity material issued to promote the idea of Reading's first wind turbine one thing was hidden away: just how big the thing will be. At a height of 400 feet, the turbine would tower over all of Reading - taller than Nelson's Column, Big Ben and just about any national monument you could mention. But this is not destined to be a work of artistic merit celebrating a great event in the nation's history. It is about making money. The turbine would provide electricity for at best 1,000 homes. Opponents claim the figure is more likely just a few hundred.

It cannot, therefore, be argued the structure dominating the skyline for up to 10 miles is of much help in providing green and clean power. People living in other parts of the country have reported a variety of woes associated with living near a giant propeller. Some produce an irritating low-level humming sound. The giant blades of others have taken a terrible toll on the bird population - something that could have a serious impact on our local ecosystem, since the site of the new turbine is close to the lakes at Pingewood, often full of wading and water fowl. Bats are also at risk.
The jury is still out on the merits of putting the turbines on land at all - a growing lobby favours the off-shore option. There is also a thirst for facts about wind farms, and specific details of their contribution to the country's energy demands. Turbines are, of course, preferable to, say, nuclear power stations, but their sites still have to be chosen carefully. Handily placed beside the company's Green Park offices, many of which lie empty, and with the Pru's proposed Kennet Valley housing scheme falling well within its shadow, the giant turbine will become the image of Reading for everyone - from passengers aboard aircraft flying into Heathrow to tens of thousands of M4 drivers.