DEAR News Of The Area,

BlueFloat Energy needs to improve its community engagement processes.

One or two days’ notice of public consultation meetings is not good enough.

The webinar, which had 31 participants listed, held on Monday 15 May, was a one way operation.

No opportunity to provide feedback and the session was shut down ten minutes early so not everyone had an opportunity to seek information.

There was no objective data provided in response to my question about comparative outputs and costs of offshore and onshore devices and no acknowledgement that these farms are planned to be located in a relatively pristine marine ecosystem where huge areas of the seabed will be scoured by anchors and ground tackle and migrating mammals and birds will be at high risk of entanglement.

Not all renewable energy is as green as it’s portrayed.

We’ve spent centuries buggering up the earth.

Now we are looking to do the same to the ocean.

It’s not necessary when there is plenty of degraded mining land and the poles and wires corridors and infrastructure are already in place.

I was an early adopter of solar and battery and am a strong supporter of renewables, but it’s not just blue water out there.

It’s a whole intricate web of life which can well do without such an offensive intrusion.

Regards,
Cherylle STONE,
Soldiers Point.