PRESSURE group Greenpeace has accused West Somerset District Council of "caving in to pressure from the nuclear lobby". In a statement issued after Wednesday's windfarm decision, Greenpeace said the development could have met more than half of Somerset's regional wind energy target and said rejection had been based on nothing more than "two spurious claims". Greenpeace - which drafted in its top UK scientist Douglas Parr to address the meeting - refuted blade throw fears and said experts at English Nature had no concerns about the impact on the local bat population. Its renewable energy campaigner Simon Clydesdale said: "This is an appalling decision. "By giving credence to these fallacious claims the council has failed to grasp a major opportunity to provide a safe, clean energy future for the people of West Somerset. "The assertions of the nuclear lobby are absurd, they argue that nuclear power stations can withstand a terrorist attack but not the highly implausible instance of a turbine blade impact." He said climate change was the greatest threat facing the planet and claimed the council had "failed not only the local electorate but also future generations who may be faced with the catastrophic potential of climate change impacts". * Richard Mardon, managing director of Your Energy, said his company was "highly likely" to appeal against the council's decision. He said there were no valid reasons to refuse the application and that West Somerset had missed out on a golden opportunity to take a large step towards clean energy production.
