Stroud 5050 – what it is
The Stroud 5050 campaign aims to give a voice to local support for wind energy.
It wants to empower people and Stroud District Council to make it happen.
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The idea is that votes will show people's active commitment, or not, to the supply of 50% of Stroud's energy needs from a clean, green source that will never run out – the wind.
Ecotricity founder and managing director Dale Vince said it was all about joined up thinking.
"This is about giving local people the power to choose where their energy comes from and all of us working together to make it happen," he said.
"We need to face up to the facts. The UK has to become energy-independent in a hurry. Our oil and gas are virtually history. Supplies from other parts of the world are at risk from events we have no control over."
Mr Vince said there was, however, an obvious option right on the doorstep.
"As the UK's most abundant energy resource, wind power can play a massive part in the fight against climate change," he said.
"Unlike North Sea oil, it will never run out."
The initial Stroud 5050 campaign runs for seven weeks from September 16 and will continue until 50% of Stroud's homes are powered by wind energy.
It will take 16 wind turbines to do that, with each supplying 1,560 homes.
Ecotricity said sites had been found for the existing windmill at Nympsfield and for seven others in the Berkeley Vale.
"We just need to find room for eight more," the firm said.
"We're always on the look out for good sites, so let us know if you know of one."
A 2MW turbine produces 5,150MW hours of electricity each year. A medium domestic household annually uses 3.3MW hours of electricity.
According to the 2001 census, there are 44,617 homes in the Stroud district. Therefore, 22,309 homes at 1,560 households per windmill means 14.3 turbines are needed.
"We have increased this to 16 turbines to allow for variability in the load factors and assumed extra houses," added Mr Vince.
"The future of Stroud's electricity and how it's created is in our hands. This is an issue we can't afford to ignore."
■ For more on this issue and Stroud 5050, visit www.stroud5050.org.
5 Comments
by Freddo, The Real World
Saturday, September 26 2009, 11:33AM
“Stroud could have 90% of its power generated by Hydro Electricity.
Shame the Hot Air Talkist only goes for 50%!”
by Rising40, Stroud
Friday, September 25 2009, 3:42PM
“Windfarms have a contribution to make - but to ask such a blatantly loaded question is simply dishonest. All in favour of a mixed economy (solar, groun/air source, water turbines etc) the bigger the mix the better, but I don't get the option to vote for that. So, sorry Dale, I won't be voting yes.”
by Cliffrat, Stonehouse
Friday, September 25 2009, 11:48AM
“I would oppose such a blinkered approach that relies on an intermittent source of power and uses equipment that is hardly 'green' to produce.
In our valleys we have sites where scores of watermills functioned on a source that is available 24-7 namely streams of water. These could be reactivated with modern technology being even more effective than the original mill wheels, and less visually intrusive. We could make intakes safe for aquatic and wildlife using screens and give the screens a self-cleaning system run on solar power.”
by Dickie Mint, Stroud
Friday, September 25 2009, 8:03AM
“The thought of 16 huge whirling monsters ruining our landscape is awful. Turbines ought to be built off shore and preferably in Scotland where hardly anyone lives (isnt that why we have a national grid?).
Appealing to eco-frindly Stroudies whilst inflicting the solution on people who live outside Stroud seems unfair - Ecotricity are behaving like the worst of commercial companies in trying to manipulate public opinion.”
by not required, stroud
Thursday, September 24 2009, 3:40PM
“how do you get a newspaper to support a blatant piece of self promotion as a small business i would have to pay a fortune for this and my company does more real good for the envirionment”