Letter: Bad line to take

Surely the Scottish Government must now impose an immediate moratorium on the Beauly-Denny power line upgrade, and reconsider its best options for providing the additional transmission capacity needed to support its renewable energy strategy?

It was never shown properly whether this was the most economical approach to take.

At the 2007 public inquiry, it transpired that, though this upgrade might be necessary if all the electricity generated were to be carried over land (and why on earth would that be the best option, when so much is to be generated offshore, or on islands?), it would be by no means sufficient - several further major upgrades, and possibly even new power lines, would also be needed within just a few years, adding massively to the cost.

An undersea cable was always seen by those in the know as the obvious alternative, and this was only ruled out on cost grounds at the public inquiry by comparing its potential costs only with those of the Beauly-Denny upgrade - not with all the additional overland power lines that would actually be needed.

And now we learn that SSE's estimated costs for Beauly-Denny have nearly doubled - as a result, according to a Scottish Government spokesperson, of SSE carrying out "detailed engineering studies" that should surely have been done at the start - so where does this leave the cost comparisons?

Given all the damage the Beauly-Denny upgrade would do to the Highlands, the Ochil Hills, the Sheriffmuir Battlefield and the scenery of Stirling - to say nothing of potential danger to people's health - it must surely now be time to go back to the drawing board, and think very carefully about using undersea cables instead of the hugely unpopular overhead lines proposed.

Nicki Baker

Friends of the Ochils

Parkhead

Logie, Stirling