High Voltage electricity transmission towers in the countryside (Image: Getty)
Locals celebrating an energy plant demolition following years of campaigning said they “remain stranded in the eye of the storm” of the rush to net zero.
Campaigners in Bressingham, near Diss, Norfolk, told how their next battle is against plans for 50m-tall pylons in the area.
Local resident Geoff Lazell said: “Despite briefly celebrating our ‘David -v- Goliath’ victory, we remain stranded in the eye of the storm that has been generated largely by the ill-conceived, economically suicidal headlong rush towards netzero and now whipped up even stronger by [Ed] Miliband’s myopic march towards ‘clean electricity’ by 2030.”
National Grid has plans for over 500 electricity pylons between Norwich and Tilbury in Essex, to transport green power.
Mr Lazell said the community was “under no illusions that this is a far tougher nut to crack” than the AD Plant.
He added: “No sooner does one campaign end than the next continue as we steel ourselves to fight the mindless mayhem due to be unleashed upon us in the form of 165 feet-high steel pylons marring our landscape every 300 yards or so.
“Nevertheless, we are determined to score another victory for common sense and cost effectiveness by persuading both NG and Ofgem that offshore or underground are preferable alternatives.”
But the government has ruled out burying electricity cables underground as part of its energy strategy, Mr Miliband’s clean energy adviser said.
Reaching net zero carbon emissions is important because it helps to reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming.
This is necessary to limit the increase in temperatures and prevent the worst impacts of climate change.
But there is huge debate around how to get to this goal while bringing communities along, and in a cost-effective way.
The pylon fight follows a community victory after the Planning Inspectorate ruled in favour of campaigners against a controversial scheme at Deal Farm in Bressingham.
The ruling followed a nine-day public inquiry last year into the anaerobic digester (AD) plant, first built seven years ago.
Inspector Diane Lewis dismissed Deal Farm Biogas’ appeal and upheld South Norfolk Council’s ruling, describing the plant as an “intentional unauthorised development”.
The anaerobic digester plant uses organic waste and crops to create biomethane that can be used to produce power.
Neighbours argued that it was far larger than the plans approved in 2015 when construction began in 2018.
Their main concerns included the impact on the landscape, the smell and noise of the plant – and the increase in lorries in the village.
Work has now started to dismantle the site, although it will not be completed for another eight months.