We want windmills!

This week our group has had one little success. The company that owns the local gas-fired power station has organized a consultation to ask community groups for they say. Five of us went to the meeting, and completely took over with a chorus of: "We want windmills!" Shoreham Harbour is a perfect site for windmills, either onshore or offshore: the wind is perfect, the substation to connect to the grid is already there (though it may need to be enlarged), any irregularities in electricity production can be easily compensated by the gas power station next to it, and the population of Brighton is massively in favour. We have all the contacts to start a positive campaign, including getting the people in the houseboats mobilized. What else could you possibly want? 

I had a chance to speak with a guy that is directly involved in the proposed project of an offshore wind farm, and he started to explain why getting started takes a while: layers and layers of bureaucracy, consultations, etc. Hopefully, nothing that couldn't be speeded up if need be.

I also spoke to the manager of the power station, and I learned a number of fascinating facts. For example, there are only 27 people in total employed by the power station. Each shift has only two people operating the plant, and the reason they're two is just in case one of them drops dead or something like that. To think that just one person could control the electricity for the whole city and surroundings...

His personal opinions were fascinating. He thought things couldn't go as they are with electricity production, he completely agreed there is an energy gap, and he even went as far as saying that market forces have failed. He was anti-coal because he had seen coal handled as a kid and could see how dirty it is. He was anti-nuclear because he found it frighteningly complicated: he understood gas, he understood the turbines of his power station, but how many people really understand nuclear physics? All in all, not quite the sort of comments you expect from somebody in a managerial position. And it wasn't me leading him on, I was asking him questions innocently, not saying anything about my opinions.

The only dark cloud comes (what a surprise!) from within our own ranks. There are those who seem to think that corporations are the devil, and talking with one is tantamount to treason, and surely they will just use us for their evil, evil plans. I'm going to talk later on with the girl that is loudest on this opinion, the same that went on about community involvement the other Wednesday, and stated that "community" isn't "business". Like almost nobody works in some kind of business. I may give her some kind of ultimatum. I'm fed up with people that divide others in three categories: humans, angels and devils. No reason to put up with medieval thinking.