Letter: Positive energy

While depressingly predicable, Malcolm Parkin and Viviane Linacre (Letters, 29 July) perpetuate the myth that any "green" scheme promoted by SSE or other energy company must be a wind farm and must also be bad.

Wind energy is far from the only string to the bow of renewable electricity generation. SSE also invests in hydro schemes which eclipse the generating potential of most wind installations. They, along with Scottish Power, are also investing in the Beauly-Denny transmission line, which will provide much-needed capacity for not only wind farms, but also new hydro schemes and masses of off-shore potential.

These projects are necessary. Footing the bill will either be the responsibility of the government or, given Ofgen has given the green light to energy providers clawing back some expenditure through its prices, the public; and should it be any different given that we are the ones who consume so much electricity and demand such upgrades and installations?

While wind energy projects have their negative side, they also have many positive benefits over coal, gas and nuclear. The mass hysteria against wind farms is principally because they are fairly visible; it is not based on robust environmental reasoning. Would these dissenters really prefer new nuclear powers stations scattered along our lowland coastlines and deep-storage nuclear waste dumps and fuel rod processing installations littered around the Highlands?

David Balfour

Craobhraid na Coilltich

Inverness