Wind power end is near
South Wales Evening Post, www.thisissouthwales.co.uk 20 April 2012
It was interesting to read the report by your journalist Paul Lewis regarding the wind energy payment squabbles between Glynneath and Onllwyn councils and their big brother Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council. It seems that the creation of the Maesgwyn Wind Farm involves a sweetener of £175,000 per annum for 25 years paid to the Glynneath and Onllwyn communities, but that money is now coming with strings attached from their fiscal controller at NPT Council.
However, what the article neglects to mention is that both the £175,000 p.a and the much larger profits accrued by Maesgwyn Wind Farm both derive from generous Feed-In Tariffs, or subsidies, paid for ultimately by the electricity consumers of England, because that is where 83 per cent of the UK populace reside! There would be NO wind turbines anywhere in the UK were it not for electricity consumers paying massive green tariffs on their electricity bills.
There is a major snag, however. Until fairly recently, the majority of UK wind turbine planning applications were in Scotland, Wales and the far north of England, so the Tory MP Nimbys of the rest of England did not care. But now 100 Tory MPs are in revolt because wind turbine applications are being made all over England. For example, there are currently 400 individual applications in Cornwall and 200 in Devon. Not only is this destroying the beauty of England, it is simply unsustainable, because English electricity consumers cannot afford the green subsidies.
Therefore, a stop will soon be called on the whole scam! The instant way – and only sure-fire way – of doing that is to drastically cut the Feed-In Tariffs for onshore wind turbines at Westminster Parliamentary level. So both Glynneath/Onllwyn and NPT councils are absolutely dreaming if they think that England’s consumers are going to throw huge sums of cash at them for the next 25 years. It just cannot happen without destroying England and sucking English people dry. Rest assured, that won’t be allowed to happen!
L J Jenkins
Clyn-yr-ynys, Gwbert, Cardigan
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/04/20/wind-power-end-is-near/