Overblown claims

Published on Sunday 13 April 2008 20:52

Every wind electricity generation site proposal by developers is supported by a claim that it will provide electricity for thousands of homes and will save a quantified level of carbon dioxide emissions by displacing fossil fuel power generation.

Analysis of these claims and adding up the alleged total number of homes supplied shows that well over one million homes (almost half the total in Scotland) should now be powered by wind-generated electricity. To fulfil the claimed emission reduction benefit, one of our fossil-fuelled power stations should have been closed by now – but it has not.

This surely exposes the lack of credibility and veracity in the environmental benefit claims regularly made by politicians and the wind lobby. The despoiling of our countryside, plus huge subsidies for wind turbines and consequent higher electricity costs, would seem to be for no benefit whatsoever, except, of course, to developers and landowners.

(DR) GM LINDSAY

Whinfield Gardens

Kinross

Before the election, the SNP promised a cap on wind farm development, so how come, since coming to power, it has approved at least four giant wind farms? This hypocrisy beggars belief.

This latest monstrosity at Gordon Bush, Sutherland and Caithness, will cost consumers around 11.5 million a year in subsidies. Including the sale of electricity to the grid, the gross income will be about 23 million a year. To add insult to injury it will not supply one house in the area with electricity or make the slightest difference to global carbon dioxide levels.

Alex Salmond has clearly decided that wind turbines are the SNP's weapons of mass destruction.

ROBERT GRAHAM

Craigsview

Orton, Moray