I grew up on the edge of what used to be a naval airstation at Pulham St. Mary in Norfolk - chosen partly because it was a flat expanse with few trees with predictable winds. In July 1919 the British Airship R34 landed there aftermaking the first east-west crossing of the Atlantic by air - only missed being the first crossing period by two weeks.

Best part of a century later, and it could be those same attributes have made the site a target for a proposed onshore wind farm. When I first heard about the scheme which is currently going through the process of ‘scoping opinion‘, the idea of seven turbines 125m high (that’s a 30 storey block of flats, and as wind turbines go they’re huge) seems great to me - personally I think they look beautiful, and I’m under the impression that although they’re not a perfect all year source of energy, they’re better for the environment than a coal fired power station.

But there are locals very opposed to the idea, including some people I hold in very high regard, and I’ve been presented with some very striking arguments that make me rethink whether or not I’m being ‘NGA’ - Naieve, Gullible and Apathetic. Certainly not the latter, but I have to admit I could have been fooled into the first two.

I’ve heard arguments before that wind power is not as good as it’s made out to be, turbines are only producing efficiently 10-15% of the time (not liking strong wind any more than no wind) and much better suited to being sited offshore than onshore.

I can also believe thay’re not as green as they make out - like all statistics you can make them say anything you want so I take both sides with a pinch of salt.

The enthusiasm to build all of these things I can see may be suspect - is it to solve our impending power crisis, or is it to capitalise on grants and funding before they stop in 2010?

But the new issue to me in the case against the Pulham Wind Farm is the potential risk to health of those living within 2Km caused by incessant low frequency noise.

Who do you trust? Certainly I now don’t trust my percieved opinion and need to research this further.