Letter: Energy policy generated on rhetoric

Published on Tuesday 22 February 2011 15:23

Now that the Scottish Government has given away about 60 square miles of our forests to foreign multinational wind farm generators (your report, 22 February) the goal of its energy policy becomes clear.

Although government is keen to mention the pittance local communities might get from this venture, the word "profit" never appears.

I've never seen it in any wind farm application either, but it is easily calculated to be 500,000 per turbine per year.

With 2GW of turbines in forests, saving, of course, no carbon, the trees were doing nicely. That means 12 billion of our money cavalierly given away to foreign companies over 25 years.

This money comes from all of us - single mums, pensioners, business - anyone using electricity.

And the bills will continue to climb. By 2020, it is predicted that Scottish electricity will be the most expensive worldwide.

The cost of wind-generated electricity is easily demonstrated to be three times that of carbon-free nuclear.

A generating policy based on renewables places supply at the mercy of the elements; it will not provide energy security, essential to all our lives and well-being. When the supply goes down, people die.

Our natural resources of landscape, forests, green hills and valleys, which provide for a fading tourist industry but are still worth currently 4bn a year, are being recklessly squandered. Tourism is a massive employer; wind farms are not.

When First Minister Alex Salmond came to power he eschewed using nuclear power despite all the scientific advice to the contrary.

He is not qualified to make reasoned decisions on such complex scientific and engineering issues. Government policy is, instead, based on the rhetoric of build as many wind farms as you can and hope some still function somewhere when the wind drops.

This policy has but one purpose: to save Salmond having to admit publicly he was wrong about nuclear, as he most certainly is. We need responsible government, not macho dogmatism and impoverishment of the poorest. It's a disgrace.

(Prof) Anthony Trewavas FRS FRSE

Croft Street

Penicuik, Midlothian