Energy wager

Adrian Gillespie (Platform, 18 May ) skilfully focuses on offshore wind and appears to have studiously avoided even the slightest mention of the practical experience of onshore turbines.

The main observation from this terrestrial "experiment" is that wind turbines are little short of useless in the production of worthwhile amounts of electricity, though extremely efficient in delivering financial gains to landowners and developers.

The fact that they are so near to useless can be gleaned by anyone looking at the Neta website ( www.bmreports.com/bsp/bsp_ home.htm) and checking up on the generation by fuel type table.

So powerful is the evidence of the insignificance of wind-derived electricity to the national grid that I offer the Energy Minister Jim Mather, Finance Secretary John Swinney and Alex Salmond the following wager: I will pay, for the next year, each of them 2 every time the above table shows that in the 24-hour period, noon to noon, wind produces 2 per cent or more of UK power production if they will pay me 1 every time it does not.

Surely at 2/1 these are good odds for putting their money where their mouths are?

RON GREER

Blair Atholl

Perthshire