NICK Dekker (Letters, February 2) is incorrect in his criticism of William
Durward (Letters, February 1) as there would be a disconnect in the event
of a Yes vote since GB Grid would no longer exist but would be replaced by
a Scottish Grid and an rUK Grid system. The physical interconnector links
would remain just as those to Ireland, France and the Netherlands, but
operators would run their systems as separate entities to meet the demands
of their own consumers.
In addition, Mr Dekker is wrong to state English and Welsh consumers would
continue to pay 92 per cent of the subsidy bill paid to the renewable
sector in Scotland. If he is unwilling to accept this claim then he should
read articles written by Brian Wilson, the former MP, who pointed out that
European regulations, not a constant Unionist refrain, make it illegal for
the Scottish Grid Operator to charge foreign consumers for the renewable
subsidy cost of the electricity bill. Note that the total subsidy bill for
the Renewable Obligation levy, constraint payments and the import of
electricity, should high pressure over the winter mean negligible output
from renewable sources, will be in excess of £20 billion a year.
The drive by Holyrood to phase out the use of gas in Scotland over the next
decade means that Scotland will require to increase the planned 12,000 MW
of wind turbines six-fold to meet demand should consumers be unable to
afford a £25,000 heat pump. Since electricity is three times more expensive
than gas it would result in the current dual fuel energy bill increasing
from around £1,200 a year to around £4,000 a year. Has Mr Dekker assessed
the impact of this policy on the 40 per cent of Scots living in fuel
poverty or asked why Holyrood has failed in its promise to eliminate such
poverty by 2016?
Ian Moir,
79 Queen Street, Castle Douglas.
NICK Dekker would like details of the renewable energy subsidy balance
between Scotland and England. Exact and up to date figures are not easy to
come by, but the following estimates should provide the general picture.
For the whole UK with 15.1GW of wind generation, annual output of
approximately 15.64 TWh offshore and 23.4 TWh onshore will be costing the
country’s 26.7 million housholds at least £2.46 billion a year, or £92 per
household.
In Scotland only, the current 9.9GW of wind operational and under
construction, essentially all onshore, would add at least £894 million to
consumer’s bills. If this were to be paid entirely by Scotland’s 2.42
million households the cost to each would be £369. Removing this cost from
the rest of the UK’s bills would reduce costs there to about £65 per
household.
However, the Scottish situation is potentially even worse, as wind power
already consented would, if built, bring the total capacity north of the
border to 16.8GW. At current subsidy levels this could cost consumers £2.36
billion a year, nearly £1,000 per household.
Prof Jack Ponton,
Scientific Alliance Scotland,
7-9 North St David Street, Edinburgh.
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