Giant wind turbines blamed for sending TV sets haywire (From Clacton and Frinton Gazette)

Giant wind turbines blamed for sending TV sets haywire

12:01pm Monday 11th February 2013 in News

Giant wind turbines blamed for sending TV sets haywire

GIANT wind turbines are being blamed for TV screen blackouts in parts of Clacton.

Couple Brenda and Bob Welch used to enjoy watching their favourite programmes on Freeview.

But they lost their signal after the blades on five new wind turbines started turning near their home.

The couple live in Gainsborough Avenue, close to Earls Hall - the biggest land-based wind farm in Essex.

The turbines - which started working last month - are more than 400ft tall and can be seen from miles away.

Brenda said: "Now the turbines are all working and the picture is just pixellated all the time.

"We used to have a lovely picture.

The couple also have satellite TV, but Brenda used Freeview in another room when her hubby was watching Sky.

Now they will have to fork out hundreds of pounds if they want satellite installed in other parts of the house.

Staff at Clacton Electronics, in Meredith Road, say other customers have similar problems.

Aerial technician Jeff Cranwell says the turbines could be to blame if they are directly in line with the transmitter in Sudbury more than 30 miles away where most people get their TV signal from.

"There have been a few people complaining about the wind turbines upsetting their TV signal since they were switched on," he said.

"If you have an object between yourself and the transmitter, such as a wind turbine or a tree, that can have an effect on your reception."

Viewers can have their aerials moved to pick up signals from another mast in Valley Road, but will lose all but the main TV channels.

A spokesman for energy company Renerco said: "We are aware that certain households have raised concerns regarding interference with their television reception.

"The interference is limited to a small number of houses to the immediate south east of the site. This is being looked into as a matter of urgency by an expert on our behalf."

The spokesman said they would talk to residents and carry out technical surveys to find the cause, adding: "We aim to complete this work as soon as possible and will then contact the residents regarding next steps."