Testimonials from Harvesting Wind Workshop
Simon, the wind course was brilliant by the way!
dan
Dan McCallum
Dear Simon,
Thank you and Liz very much for a fantastic day! I can't think of a single bit of the workshop that I didn't find useful or at least interesting, and the food was good too. Despite all the difficulties you've encountered in your project, It's very inspiring and I certainly want to start a wind project in
I hope that you get your FiT money soon! Many thanks again & best wishes,
Ivana
Dear Simon and Liz,
Thank you so much for yesterday – it was a great day and fully restored my confidence in what we are doing.
The day went very well for me.
It’s good to hear about different aspects, even if they’re not directly relevant to me.
I was particularly fascinated to hear how you had project managed the 225kW yourselves.
We have had a good and positive meeting with our planning officer today and are now intending to resubmit.
Best wishes and good luck to you all, Frank
Dear Simon Tilley,
I hope you do not take my lack of response so far as lack of interest.
I was impressed by the way you and Liz led the whole day and I felt privileged to learn from the experience of your project and village organisations.
As I mentioned before I left, I do feel overawed by how much time and energy the few of you have had to devote to the project over the years. I have so many other things I would like to achieve in the time left to me that I do not see myself being a prime mover.
I hope to explore further what others in our village think about a wind turbine. I can at least envisage investing in a small private one if that could be arranged. If discussions progress, I can imagine a time when a consultation from someone with experience like yourself will be needed. So far you seem to me to be the best source of information and expertise for the purpose.
Yours sincerely,
John Goodacre.
Hi Simon,
in relation to the feedback,
1, I have been studying and working with community grpups on proposed community wind development locations and therefore feel i am relatively up to date on the process of idea through to install, however, i found the personal experience you have had in this process very useful as it is always a little different to what is taught on paper. I also found the friendliness of the event allowed members to openly ask questions and seek advice on certain aspects, that turned out to be useful to us all.
2, All well managed.
3, Good allround overview.
4, Sequence of the day was fine, it may have been a bit more beneficial for the FIT slides to be earlier in the day, before the financing section of the slides, as not much time was given to review/discuss and reflect on this information.
5, I didn't pay for the event the company (AAT) did, so no comment.
6, I will suggest this to the community groups i am working with, inevitably it depends on funding on their side.
all the best
Jenny
Jenny Carlisle
Sustainable Energy Project Manager / Rheolwr Prosiect Ynni Cynaladwy
Awel Aman Tawe
(From other HHP Master Classes)
You made an excellent presentation and the level of technical knowledge was very high even when compared to similar project presentations that I have visited in the UK. I would thoroughly recommend the Masterclass to anyone wishing to know more about this field. (Jon Morris, Principal, One Engineer, June 07)
I think the main advantage of the day was being able to see the various technologies (that we've all been talking about for yonks!) actually functioning alongside each other, integrated into a real living community environment. You read about it, you hear about it but seeing it is altogether different. Terrific! (Graham Mills, East Midlands Renewable Energies Group, Jan 07)
I had a thoroughly enjoyable day at Hockerton and felt I learned a lot in what I thought was a wonderful model for ecological and sustainable living. I was very impressed with everything I saw, from the simplicity of the construction of the homes, and the amount of light projected through the conservatory area to the back of the homes, to the use of the solar and wind powered technology used for the energy supply for the homes, and the water supply and 'waste' management system. Compared with other conferences, seminars and visits I have undertaken in the course of my studies for my qualification, it has been the most enjoyable, interesting and informative, so on that basis I must say it has been the best value for money, as in the past I have paid more for less. (David Spooner, Registration Executive, Lytham Land Registry, September 08)
I found it all very useful and the day was managed with pride, confidence and professionalism - I think its great what you guys have done I would like to visit again. Really really impressed.(Senior Environmental Scientist, Wardell Armstrong LLP, Nov 07)
My main reason for visiting was that it's easy for us industrialists and academics to sit behind our desks pontificating on low-energy housing,but to visit the people who have actually DONE it is invariably refreshing,and is always a good thing to do as a 'professional sanity check'. (Dr Neil Cutland, Executive Director, Inbuilt Ltd, Nov 07)
The ability to see, hear & feel the products/engineering in action in a practical environment rather than just reading company brochures, watching promotional footage or demonstrations. It was very nice to talk to "real" people that live with the technology and have experienced benefits and pit-falls associated with it. (Mark Cox, Building Surveyor, National Trust, Jan 07)
I thoroughly enjoyed the day and it was very encouraging talking to people who had practical experience rather than just a grasp of the theory. Simon's presentation on the principles was as clear as any I've seen, if not clearer and I particularly enjoyed his graphs showing the threshold between heating costs and insulation levels representing the point that thermal mass became important. ….. the detailed discussion about construction and procurement challenges from Nick gave a practical edge to the day that you rarely get at other events. (Rob Annable, Architect, Axis Design Collective, Birmingham, Nov 06)
"In brief your project at Hockerton is outstanding, the people amazing and the course was for me was thought provoking, eye opening and very inspirational." (Martin Johnson, Brewster Bye Architects Ltd, Nov 06)
"I had a great day at Hockerton and have brought away many valuable ideas about how Willmott Dixon Housing can deliver more sustainable developments." (Gareth Rondell, Sustainability Manager, Willmott Dixon Housing Ltd, Sept 2005)