May 22, 2013
Scotland

Windfarms profits ‘injustice’ attacked

By Cameron Brooks | The Press and Journal | 22 May 2013 |

A Church of Scotland minister has hit out at landowners who profit from windfarms.

Sally Foster-Fulton, convener of the Kirk’s church and society council, said it was a “huge injustice” that they were making money while local people were struggling to pay their fuel bills.

The committee is in favour of community-owned windfarms to produce energy for householders and generate income for investment in local amenities.

Ms Foster-Fulton, who said she personally thought windfarms were “pretty”, said:“The Church is heavily in favour of renewable energy and we have to get a handle on climate change.

“Windfarms are part of the solution but are not the magic bullet.

“One of the things that goes hand in glove with windfarms is the idea of fuel poverty in rural areas

“It is a huge injustice that landowners are making a lot of money from windfarms, and fuel poverty in those same areas is going through the roof.

“We need to make sure communities profit from windfarms more than landowners.”

Ms Foster-Fulton, associate minister at Dunblane Cathedral, said the church was starting a new movement to inform the Scottish independence debate.

She said it would be called Imagine Scotland’s Future and based on a civic assembly model used in Iceland.

Ms Foster-Fulton said the current debate was “very polarised” and the time had come to flesh out civic society’s vision for what kind of Scotland they want to live in.

“This model brings diverse people together to outline what values they want to see embodied,” she added.

Ms Foster-Fulton said the views would be fed back to politicians.

She said society must change its negative view of taxation.

Ms Foster-Fulton said: “We talk about tax like it is something to be evaded, avoided or a burden but it is an investment in society.

“So I am all for tax and we need to embrace that as a way of helping the most vulnerable in society and make it better in general.”


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2013/05/22/windfarms-profits-injustice-attacked/