THE Scottish Government has set a very ambitious target for renewable
energy (“We must all be energised to build a country that is fairer and
greener”, Agenda, The Herald, January 25). But at what cost? Are the
consumers expected to continue to pay through the nose for ineffective wind
farms that reward the owners with payments when there’s no wind or too much
wind?
Why doesn’t the Government consider the one source of energy and power that
has been seriously neglected for decades in Scotland –our residual waste?
Since the SNP Government removed the ring-fence round waste recycling
funding our performances have stalled as some of our councils are now using
the funds for other services. So the chances of our meeting the Scottish
Government’s ambitious recycling targets wane with every Hogmanay.
But if we were to develop an integrated strategy for developing new plants
where our residual waste (what’s left after we’ve sorted out our paper,
bottles, cans and garden waste and so on) could be converted into heat and
power we’d be well on the road towards a greener energy policy. They’ve
been doing it on the continent for decades, so why can’t we? There’s a
plentiful and continuous supply of the raw product and lots of scope for
cooperating with the private sector to develop new plants in a very short
time. It would also go a long way towards Scotland meeting its landfill
diversion targets and would take the pressure off the need for more windfarms.
John F Crawford,
4 The Breakers,
Victory Boulevard, Lytham.
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