DR Ken Brown (Letters, June 26), asks why Fergus Ewing has gone back on his
claim that “the SNP believe that many other forms of renewable energy are
the future, not unconstrained wind farms”.
I don’t suppose he would want to admit it, but the answer just might be
that it is an extremely effective way of transferring extra funds from
non-Scottish electricity consumers to Scottish communities without people
outside Scotland realising what is happening.
The cost to the UK public of the now near-standard payment of Community
Benefit recommended by the Scottish Government is £5.000 per MW per year
for 25 years. This amount has to be paid by wind turbine operators to local
communities and is recovered from the public by an “add-on” to UK
consumers’ electricity bills.
It should be borne in mind that 91.62 per cent of the UK population (2011
census) live outside Scotland and Scotland has by far the greatest
proportion of onshore wind turbines. Based on population rather than the
unknown total electricity billing, this means that for every 3MW turbine in
Scotland there is a Community Benefit payment paid to Scottish communities
from outside Scotland of £343,575 during the lifetime of the turbine.
Multiply that up and it is a very substantial hidden additional payment to
us in Scotland.
Nigel Willis,
Nervelstone, Lochwinnoch.
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