The attitude in this country has to change

Sir – Whilst everyone has the right to express an opinion about wind turbines, they should however avail themselves of all the facts prior to making comment.

I personally have nothing against them, an opinion not in any way influenced by my employment at Gordonbush. I do not benefit in anyway from the windfarm here so feel I can freely express my own opinion.

The fact is, I like windmills, and have since early childhood been fascinated by the ability to gain power from the wind, whether to grind corn, pump water or make electricity; its an ancient technology, still used all over the world.

I’m just back from Majorca where most rural properties have their own windmill to raise fresh water from the deep rocks, a necessity that no-one complains about.

I for one would rather have electricity generated from wind turbines than ruin this world with smoke, fumes, and radioactive pollution.

Modern windfarms are not forever, they can be removed as quickly as they were erected, they are a stop gap, a temporary measure, to try and alleviate the lack of generating capacity this country will suffer in the next 10-15 years due to the closing of several coal and gas powered stations throughout the UK, and the increasing demand by you, the customer.

The lifespan of most turbines is 25 years, giving time for this, and the next, government to make up their mind about nuclear or hydrogen power stations, or other more consistent and reliable methods of harnessing natural power can be developed.

Once the windfarms have fulfilled their usefulness they will be dismantled and the ground returned to its previous state. A process that will take no longer than the time taken to put them up. Can the same be said for Nuclear power?

They also contribute towards the ridiculous renewable energy capacity obligation that the Scottish Government gave to Europe, as quoted from the Scottish Government: "Scotland has massive green energy potential – from our vast natural resources of a quarter of Europe’s tidal and offshore wind potential and a tenth of its wave power, to the legacy of Scotland’s traditional energy industries. That’s why we have set an ambitious target for the equivalent of all of Scotland’s electricity needs to come from renewables by 2020, one of the most demanding anywhere in world. A target that is necessary to reindustrialise Scotland through 21st century technologies and seize the opportunities to create tens of thousands of new jobs and secure billions of pounds of investment in our economy. By setting Europe’s most ambitious target for renewable electricity and putting in place the measures required to deliver it we are creating a competitive advantage for Scotland which will secure a prosperous and sustainable low carbon economy for the future."

Hence the huge subsidies given to companies to erect them, and the grants given to householders to install solar panels etc. How many of you have already taken advantage of that? It’s the same thing, just on a different scale.

Don’t blame the generating companies, or landowners, for taking advantage of these incentives. The blame for this lies at the feet of your Scottish Government for making such a wild promise. They couldn’t fulfil that promise alone, they had to encourage large companies to produce the means to do so by offering large subsidies.

And, it was you, the public, who voted them in to make these decisions on how best to spend your money.

One hundred per cent reliant on renewables by 2020? I wonder what else the Scottish Government will burden us with if they gain full independence in 2014; however, that’s a different subject and I mustn’t digress.

At present the UK does not produce enough electricity to satisfy the demand from householders. Every time you purchase another electrically powered gadget for your house, you increase demand on the national grid.

At certain times of day – breakfast time, tea time, during the ad breaks of your favourite soaps – the demand on the grid is enormous, so large that the grid operators have to import power from Europe, power mostly generated by Nuclear Power stations in France.

The more windmills that are turning at this time of high demand reduces the amount that they have to import, reducing reliance on other countries to provide our power.

Ok, so this doesn’t work when the wind isn’t blowing; I accept the fact that a wind turbine without wind is useless, but when it is blowing they are efficient, fuel free, and they can be turned on within seconds to satisfy demand and then turned off again when the demand drops, hence the reason they do not always appear to be working, even when the wind is blowing.

Why people continue to complain about something that produces energy without burning fossil fuel; has no risk of pollution; creates employment during construction and maintenance; and provides local communities with much needed funding that would otherwise be unavailable, is totally beyond me.

It’s about time that the antis and complainers understood and accepted the facts and instead of being negative and constantly criticising others for their efforts, channelled their energy into doing something positive and useful.

The attitude in this country has to change for us to improve our way of life, and the future of our economy.

– Tony Smith,

Factors House,

Gordonbush,

Brora.