Letter: Lack of energy

Friends of the Earth should find another name (Letters, 22 April). To support the destruction of peat bogs and virgin land, and blight scenery for such a low-density form of power, is hardly being a friend to the Earth. Friends of Energy Developers would be more accurate.

How can politicians get away with saying that in a mere nine years we can bump up our energy from renewables to 100 per cent? There are not many more sites for hydro power. Hydrogen storage is in its infancy, is inefficient and expensive.; wave and tidal energy is not yet commercial. That leaves wind. In March, we had to import electricity from England because of a lack of it here.

Even if we built 100 times as many turbines, when the wind doesn't blow there is no electricity. Where is the plan and costing of how they are going to do it? Is it dependent on there being times when we produce hardly any electricity and have to import some from England? As low pressure usually sits over the whole of the UK, surely if our wind turbines were working it is likely England's would be too, and we would not get a high price for our wind-produced electricity. At times of high pressure we would all be in the soup. Mind you, without electricity there would not be any soup.

Celia Hobbs

Peebles Road, Penicuik