October 31, 2011
Letters, Scotland

A high price

www.scotsman.com 31 October 2011

In his Platform article (29 October), Graham Brown, chairman of Burcote Wind, claims that “wind is free”.

If that is indeed the case, perhaps he could explain why overseas wind developing companies are rushing to our shores to build ever more wind turbines? These companies are here to make money, pure and simple.

About two-thirds of installed wind turbines are owned by overseas companies to whom we consumers pay huge subsidies when the turbines are operating and massive “constraint” payments when they are taken offline.

In order to pay for this unreliable, intermittent and marginal source of electricity, our bills are ramping up rapidly. So wind is most certainly not free to impoverished consumers.

Adding insult to injury, virtually all the components for Mr Brown’s beloved turbines are imported and the number of operational jobs is minuscule so perhaps he could explain how we in Scotland benefit from his “free wind”?

GM LINDSAY

Whinfield Gardens

Kinross

GRAHAM Brown says that wind is free, but when it is used to power wind turbines it attracts subsidies paid for by the Scottish energy consumer, in the form of increased bills.

Wind farming – or subsidy farming as it should be better known – is a hugely unfair scheme whereby the rich get richer at the expense of many Scots who already struggle to pay their electricity and gas bills. It should be exposed as such.

MALCOLM PARKIN

Gamekeepers Road

Kinnesswood, Kinross


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/10/31/a-high-price/