Jenny Scobie is critical of both wind farms and salmon farms (Agenda, The
Herald, August 31).
It may make sense to try to sway the general public in the case of the
latter, but surely when it comes to wind farms, she should be trying to
convince her fellow landowners?
As far as I can see, the large commercial wind farms with which the
Scottish countryside is becoming increasingly polluted are little more than
a get-rich-quick scheme for the already well-heeled.
There is ample evidence that they are both costly and inefficient – so
inefficient that they offer little in the way of carbon emission reduction.
However, there is also evidence that they offer a few individuals the
chance of rich pickings, funded by the rest of us in the form of higher
energy bills.
The developers tell us that more and more large new wind farms are needed
to ensure that Scotland has an energy mix.
Many people share my belief that we have quite enough wind turbines in the
mix. As a keen baker, I’m aware that too much of any one ingredient
produces not a cake but an inedible and wasteful mess.
It would be instructive to have a publicly-available register of all those
who have benefited financially from having wind farms on their land .
Even more instructive would be a list of those landowners who have resisted
the blandishments of the wind farm developers, and spurned the opportunity
to make a fast buck at the expense of the environment.
These are the real heroes. However, I suspect it would be a rather short list.
Fiona M Stark,
Toftingal,
Laurieston Road,
Gatehouse of Fleet.
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