- Musical symphonies played on the giant rotating blades
of wind turbines are being considered by one of Scotland's leading power
companies in an attempt to engage the public with the growing energy-generating
source.
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- ScottishPower has commissioned Alex Hamilton, an environmental
artist, to come up with ideas and works to change the public's perception
of wind farms and turn them into radical recreational areas.
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- As well as working on traditional art forms, which include
painting turbines and introducing sculpture and coloured lighting, The
Scotsman has learned he is considering making the turbines produce music
similar to that of wind instruments for an all-encompassing "sensory
experience".
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- In order to meet the Scottish Executive's target of producing
40 per cent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020, there will be
an unprecedented expansion of wind farms across much of the country. More
than 150 such schemes currently await planning approval.
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- Recently, however, there has been growing opposition
to the monolithic dominance of the immediate landscapes occupied by wind
farms, and several campaign groups have formed.
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- Mr Hamilton said: "It is about trying to encourage
people to use what I conceive will become wind parks as recreational spaces.
Wind symphonies would involve playing around with the natural acoustic
sounds that we can create with the turbines."
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- By cutting and drilling precise holes in the blades,
he says they could produce sounds tuned to harmonise with each other.
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- He also suggests that detachable instruments could be
made, which would fix to the end of the blades and work in a similar way
to an Aeolian harp. Named after the Greek god of the wind, an Aeolian harp
is a small box across which are stretched strings tuned to resonate in
unison, producing rising and falling harmonies when air moves over them.
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- Mr Hamilton said: "Music and harmonies could then
be created by using different attachments producing different notes, and
it would then be possible to commission musicians for a programme of concerts
in the park environment."
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- If the project wins ScottishPower's approval, the wind
music would not be permanent, and would only be produced at scheduled times.
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- Alan Mortimer, the head of wind development at ScottishPower,
said: "Alex is reporting back to us at the end of December and we
will then consider his ideas and see how we can bring them to fruition.
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- "The noise that turbines ordinarily produce is a
very gentle swishing sound as the blades pass round, and this could be
augmented at turbines close to a visitor facility at a site where we were
encouraging the public to come and have a look at the turbines. This is
about trying to find ways to make more of a feature of them at the right
sites."
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- The British Wind Energy Association praised the project
as a "wonderful enterprise indeed", and said it would make wind
farms more visitor- friendly.
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- But the anti-wind farm campaign group Views of Scotland
called the idea a "stunt".
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- Spokeswoman Gillian Bishop said: "It really is insulting
that as more and more people are beginning to ask awkward questions about
the ability of wind power to affect global warming, ScottishPower is planning
to win them over by hanging bells on their turbines.
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- "Let's have a proper public debate about the real
issues and leave schemes like this for the first of April."
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- ©2003 Scotsman.com
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- http://www.news.scotsman.com/scitech.cfm?id=1288812003
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