Windfarm proposals absolute nonsence
Stirling Observer, www.stirlingobserver.co.uk 17 February 2012
Here in Scotland tourism is crucial to the economy and generally distributes the income earned from it throughout rural communities. Our landscape is precious, the jewel in our crown.
The silly political declarations that we can become, by some unexplained miracle, quickly self-sufficient in renewable energy, completely ignore the facts. Not only is wind power vastly more expensive than any other form of generation but it is also highly inefficient, capable of producing no more than 21 per cent of its alleged capacity overall.
Do we really want to be in a position that when the wind doesn’t blow or when its blows too strongly the lights go out? And all to make a few people an awful lot of money, much of the wealth thus created destined for foreign shores.
The politicians seem intent upon throwing vast sums of money at this white elephant whilst suddenly reducing the income derived from solar installations. This is quick-fix politics at its worst, which utterly fails to understand the long-term picture and completely betrays our vital tourism industry. The current proposal to site a windfarm on the very edge of the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park between Gartmore and Drymen is, in a word, absurd.
Incidentally, science tells us that building windfarms on peatland (as this one would be) actually releases more carbon into the atmosphere than it would ever save. I think you will find that most of the current wave of windfarm proposals across Scotland are located on areas of peat. What absolute nonsense!
KEITH GRAHAM author of ‘Country View’
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/02/17/windfarm-proposals-absolute-nonsence/