Letter: Green policies tilting at windmills

A NATIONAL scandal has been developing, insidiously, amid ever-increasing support by politicians using our money for the wild goose of wind turbine and renewables-generated electricity, also supported by conservation/environmental groups.

Yesterday's letter from Dr Richard Dixon of WWF exemplifies such support, merely restating a favourable case, rather than arguing with its opponents' evidence.

All that evidence now clearly shows that only a derisory amount of power can ever come from these hugely damaging and expensive installations, which, moreover, do nothing to reduce "greenhouse gas" output, and perhaps increase it.

Our nation is very heavily in debt, fossil fuels are in declining supply as their prices rise and so new sources of electricity generation are vitally needed. Those in political power are still, however, chasing "green" electricity sources, which, as found in other European countries - notably Denmark and Germany - are not useful solutions to the problems of the imminent shortfall in electricity, to keep factories working and homes lit and heated.

DR CHARLES WARDROP

Viewlands Road West

Perth

Perhaps the RSPB, WWF and FoE have been busy watching bluebirds over the white cliffs of Dover this morning (23 September ), because in the past 24 hours wind turbines generated only 1 per cent of UK electricity and are currently producing less than 500 megawatts.

This is despite the much vaunted coming on line of the new huge windfarm off the Kent coast. They certainly were not looking at the reality of renewable power production as, even combining pump storage and hydro contributions, this still amounts to less than 2,000 megawatts.

In comparison, coal and gas turbine production are producing 35,000 megawatts, so perhaps Richard Dixon, Lloyd Austen and Duncan McLaren could enlighten us all as to how many new wind turbines we will need, how many one-megawatt tidal turbines will be required, where they are going to be situated and how many glacial valleys in the Highlands will have to be dammed?

RON GREER

Armoury House

Blair Atholl

Perthshire

Messrs Dixon, Austin and McLaren (Letters, 23 September) call for an energy policy for Scotland to produce more than 100 per cent of our electricity requirement from renewable sources. This would involve a progressive abandonment of combustion of fossil fuels and nuclear power plants as major energy sources. Unfortunately, on a global scale, this is now unlikely to happen. Politicians continue to talk nonsense about "clean electricity" and "carbon-free" environments.

The whole of life on Earth is based on sustaining the equilibrium in the carbon cycle. However, the frantic search continues for new oil resources, and human "progress" is identified with the population explosion predicted by Malthus, and on never-ending economic growth.

We have now reached the final frontier for homo sapiens.It may already be too late to reverse this trend and avoid rendering the planet uninhabitable for mammalian life.

DR DAVID PURVES

Strathalmond Road

Edinburgh