By Ben Robinson
There are very few Government policies that are guaranteed to get everybody
talking.
But if you raised the subject of wind turbines down the pub on a Saturday
night, you can be sure everyone will have an opinion.
Some claim it is the only sustainable means of generating power and will
play a lasting role in ensuring the country’s prosperity.
Others would fiercely argue they are a costly and inefficient blight on the
landscape which cannot provide a reliable source of power.
They point to eye-watering costs like the £116 million of billpayers’ money
paid out since 2010 to turn them off when it is too windy which would be
enough to give more than 90,000 homes a year’s free heating.
Either way, wind energy is here to stay.
Scotland already hosts around half of all the wind turbines built in the UK
and the SNP Government sees wind as being key to meeting its vow to produce
all electricity from renewable sources by 2020.
The central plank of critics’ opposition to wind farms centres on the fact
they are heavily subsidised and cannot guarantee a steady supply, due to
variable weather.
Campaigners argue the more Scotland favours wind energy over traditional
power, like gas, coal or nuclear, the less reliable the country’s supply
will become.
And while there are concerns about a lack of electricity during calm
weather, there is mounting anger over the spiralling cost to billpayers for
compensating wind turbine owners when they turn them off because it’s too
windy.
During 2014, operators across the UK were paid a record £53 million in
so-called constraint payments to leave their turbines idle and, during last
month’s storms, a further £10.7m was shelled out to stop the National Grid
receiving more power than it can cope with.
Linda Holt, of campaign group Scotland Against Spin, said: “You need to
have base load and dispatchable energy.
“Base load is the bedrock of what needs to be produced all the time and
dispatchable is the way the grid or the power stations can be ramped up to
meet demand like at half-time of a football match when everyone pops out
to make a cup of tea.
“You have to be able to ramp it up to meet that spike. You need energy
production that can be very responsive.
“The problem is that wind farms cannot produce that steady electricity
because you cannot control the wind nor can they provide the dispatchable
extra.”
While the wind industry acknowledges its supply has limitations, it
believes the huge environmental benefits outweigh its unpredictable
performance.
During the first half of 2014, renewable energy produced more power in
Scotland than coal, gas or nuclear for the first time, with onshore wind a
key contributor.
Joss Blamire, a senior policy manager at Scottish Renewables which
represents the industry, says climate change targets mean wind power is
essential.
He said: “The primary aim of onshore wind is to provide electricity and
also help the environment. That’s why we have onshore wind turbines and in
Scotland the technology is delivering on both those fronts.
“The output now on an annual basis is equivalent to around a third of our
electricity needs and environmentally the renewables sector as a whole in
Scotland is saving around 12 million tonnes of C02 a year and the vast
majority of that is from onshore wind output.
“It is producing electricity and helping to cut harmful climate change
emissions as well.”
And while he acknowledges the often cited criticisms of wind power’s
unpredictably, he sees it as a temporary drawback while more investment is
made to improve the grid for green energy.
He added: “It’s fair to say wind farms produce variable power, there’s no
denying that, so it’s again another argument for investing in our grid’s
infrastructure so that we can bring renewables from all parts of the UK to
help them meet demand.
“Also inter-connectivity with the Scottish islands and mainland Europe as
well if we can get that grid connection going we can take those
renewables from anywhere and meet demand but also, when it is blowing
strongly, we have the opportunity to export energy as well.”
Rural alliance lets fly at lack of fair scrutiny
An unprecedented and scathing attack on the Scottish Government’s windfarm
policy has been put forward by a powerful rural alliance.
An open letter signed by a large number of concerned groups including the
Association for the Protection of Rural Scotland, the Mountaineering
Council of Scotland and the National Trust for Scotland calls into question
ministerial judgement on large windfarm projects.
It says the Government, in backing large developments, has ignored its own
advisers and failed to ensure plans have been laid open to “proper and
democratic scrutiny”.
The letter, which was made public last week, says: “It is vital that any
decisions on the location of these developments rely on the fair and
impartial assessment of all pertinent information and points of view.
“The people of Scotland depend on their Government to ensure this happens.
Unfortunately, we do not believe that the Scottish Government is doing this
in a consistent manner with windfarm developments.”
It adds: “Having put in place a planning system which invites the expert
views of statutory consultees, the Scottish Government too frequently
ignores them if they prove inconvenient.
“At the very least, evidence of this calibre from SNH should trigger public
inquiries.”
“Rather than force objectors to challenge these decisions in the courts at
great expense, the Scottish Government should first ensure they have been
exposed to the proper and democratic scrutiny that their scale and
potential impact warrants.”
The Scottish Government has defended its policy aims to strike a balance
between Scotland’s “massive green energy potential and the need to protect
some of the country’s most scenic and wild areas”.
FACT BOX
. Britain has more than 500 onshore Windfarms, ranging from single
installations serving a few homes to huge farms.
. Wind generated enough electricity to supply the needs of more than 6.7
million UK households in 2014, which is up 15% on the previous year.
. Around 9% of electricity powering Britain’s homes now comes from wind
energy.
. Experts say the amount of pollution creating a turbine is wiped out
within three to ten months of it starting to operate – known as carbon payback.
. But many wind farms are built on upland sites containing peat, which
absorb 3.2 tons of carbon per year in Britain. Critics claim wind farms
damage the habitat, which stops pollution being absorbed.
. Large turbines require wind speeds of six metres per second or 13 mph to
operate effectively.
. The world’s first commercial offshore wind facility was built in 1991 in
the Baltic off Vindeby, Denmark. And Denmark gets a greater proportion of
its electricity from wind than any other country.
. In 2010, China overtook the U.S. As the world leader in wind energy
capacity, by increasing its wind power base by 73% in just one year.”
“What do you think? Contact Ben Robinson at brobinson@sundaypost.com or
join the debate at www.sundaypost.com”
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