September 2007

Coronation Power can confirm that the temporary meteorological monitoring mast on Bickham Moor, erected in May, 2007, was brought down through a deliberate act of sabotage. Investigation of the felled mast by the installation team has established that the outer guy wires were severed using a form of heavy duty wire cutters.

The mast, which had been collecting wind data across the site for 4 months, collapsed on itself following the act of sabotage, whilst the bottom 20 metres of the mast remained standing.

Bonnie Turner, Community Relations Officer of Coronation Power, observes: “We are clearly disappointed by this act of willful vandalism, particularly as it will achieve nothing. We will arrange for the mast to be replaced as soon as possible through insurance cover and we will get the wind data we need. Meantime we understand the police will continue to investigate the incident.”

“What is a concern to us is the danger that such saboteurs are putting themselves in. Cutting the high tension wires and bringing down the mast may well put them in a risky situation that could result in a fatal accident. There is no way of predicting which way the mast may fall down when the wires are cut and there is the possibility of the guy wires whipping around and striking someone. This is not what anyone would want to see happen.”

“What this act does expose is that the anti-wind farm movement, for it was an act that was surely fomented by them, is prepared to go to any means to stall solutions to climate change, even criminal acts. They continue to mount vociferous campaigns against wind farms whilst failing to put forward and develop credible solutions of their own. Such opposition continues regardless of the national need for renewables stated by the Government, and in ignorance of the evidence that wind energy has a significant part to play in the future energy mix for the UK for combating climate change and ensuring an indigenous supply of energy generation.”

The mast was brought down on the night of 17th, August 2007. Local reports are that it was raining on occasion but that on that night there was no wind, and certainly no gusts capable of bringing a mast down. Such masts are designed and installed to withstand windspeeds of up to 50 metres per second. The mast itself was made of galvanised steel and the guy wires were 6 mm in diameter. According to the engineer’s report on the mast failure: “The 4 top guy wires at the western anchor point had been cut. The top 3 were cut cleanly with some sort of heavy duty wire cutters, the cut was too clean to suggest use of hacksaw, bolt croppers or dremel. The 4th wire down was splayed & cut at different lengths at both ends — suggesting that it had been under high tension when cut, and that some of the strands were stretching ~ 25mmduring cutting, hence this was the last to be cut. The rest of the wire ropes, thimbles, chains were in good condition, with no evidence of any corrosion, abrasion, or other damage. The clean cut to the wires implies that the vandal had gone well—prepared for the job.” Coronation Power expects to replace the mast in the next month, and will make provisions to ensure this one is not brought down through sabotage.