Durlston Area
It is important that you follow the viewing instructions for these simulations of the windfarm.
High Definition Videos
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194, 5MW turbine array (Feb 2014 layout)
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This video shows the view from Durlston Country Park with Anvil Point Lighthouse in the foreground of a 5MW turbine array. The assumptions are explained on the animation FAQ page (194, 177m 5MW array).
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This video shows the same 5MW turbine array, but from Durlston Castle itself.
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122, 8MW turbine array (Feb 2014 layout)
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This video shows an 8MW turbine array from the same viewpoint as above. The assumptions are explained on the animation FAQ page (122, 200m 8MW array).
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This video shows the same 8MW turbine array, but from Durlston Castle itself.
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The 300MW Thanet Wind Farm
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The wind farm off Thanet in Kent has been suggested as a model of what the Navitus Bay wind farm might look like. It is just 11.5km from (7.2 miles) North Foreland, but contains only 100 3MW turbines, 115m tall in one quarter of the area of Navitus Bay and has a rated capacity of a little under a third of Navitus Bay.
In this video, we have transported the Thanet farm to be 11.5km off Durlston Castle so you can see for yourself that the Thanet wind farm looks significantly smaller. |
How Durlston would be affected
Durlston, a National Nature Reserve, Gateway to the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site and inside the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, would have the "best" view of the windfarm. The whole array would be visible to the south and south-east, to the right of the Isle of Wight. The array would span 1.8x as much horizon as the whole of the Isle of Wight, and the closest turbines would appear to be nearly three times as tall as the island's highest point. The closest turbines may be just 8.9 miles (14.3km) from the cliffs (the Needles are 16.3 miles away), and because of the height of the cliffs and hills, the curvature of the Earth has little or no effect on visibility.
Durlston is also fortunate to be a "Dark Skies Discovery Site" because of the really dark skies on the southern horizon. It has an astronomical observatory which hosts popular public astronomical evenings throughout the year. The wind farm's flashing navigation lights would be easily visible in what is currently a totally black area.
Durlston is an important staging post for migrating birds heading to or from the continent. The windfarm unfortunately would lie on these routes. There are also sea-bird colonies at Durlston and marine mammals, such as dolphins, frequent the area. It is not clear to what extent this wild-life would be affected during construction, operation and de-commissioning of the windfarm.
Durlston is also fortunate to be a "Dark Skies Discovery Site" because of the really dark skies on the southern horizon. It has an astronomical observatory which hosts popular public astronomical evenings throughout the year. The wind farm's flashing navigation lights would be easily visible in what is currently a totally black area.
Durlston is an important staging post for migrating birds heading to or from the continent. The windfarm unfortunately would lie on these routes. There are also sea-bird colonies at Durlston and marine mammals, such as dolphins, frequent the area. It is not clear to what extent this wild-life would be affected during construction, operation and de-commissioning of the windfarm.