3 good letters in the Scotsman today.
A lot of wind?
Lorna Slater, co-leader of the Scottish Greens and an engineer with Orbital Marine Power, writes as though Scotland, with 0.15 of global emissions, can solve the world’s climate problems (Perspective, 3 April). She says that 82 per cent of workers were open to moving to a job outside the oil and gas industry. Of course they are, but Ms Slater offers no details or numbers of those (mythical?) jobs. A bit like Alex Salmond’s promises that Scotland would be the “Saudi Arabia of renewables” but Scotland’s 1,293 wind turbines were manufactured abroad and built with foreign labour.
Ms Slater makes the ridiculous statement that Scotland has the potential to provide 25 per cent of Europe’s renewable energy. France has 56 nuclear power plants and Europe 176, so no chance of them wanting Scotland’s expensive wind electricity, which is 5.6 times more expensive than gas.
Clark Cross
Springfield Road, Linlithgow
Voices ignored
Golticlay, a wind farm of 19 turbines, north of Lybster, was rejected by Highland Council in 2017. The Scottish Government heard an appeal chaired by a Reporter appointed by the Scottish Government in 2018. Last week Minister for Energy, Connectivity and the Islands Paul Wheelhouse agreed with his Reporter and approved the scheme. This was against 246 letters of objection and three for approval. It is found that large wind farms are not providing the sustainable development, the infrastructure or the long-term jobs that we need. The Scottish Government needs to cease overruling our local communities and the Highland Council in planning decisions.
Michael Baird
Dornoch Road, Bonar Bridge
Sparking debate
Lorna Slater’s suggestion that oil and gas stay in the ground ignores the fact that with the transition to electrification, mainly for transport and residences, these energy sources will be needed for the next 20 to 30 years in reducing quantities. She also quotes Nicola Sturgeon as saying that 97 per cent of our electricity came from renewables last year. This statement is not anywhere near correct and putting out this misinformation is not helpful at any time.
My own energy supplier, one of the big energy firms, notified me that electricity supplied by them last year came mainly from Natural Gas (48.1 per cent) and Renewable Sources (51.9 per cent). Other suppliers will have a different mix which will include nuclear, of which Scotland is still supplying more than 1.5 GW per year to the Grid from Hunterston and Torness.
The Climate Emergency is a very serious matter and it is essential that politicians are both honest and transparent with the information they make public. It is particularly troubling when politicians make claims that they can ensure that the country (Scotland or the UK) will reach Net Zero Carbon Emissions by such dates as 2040 or 2050 when they have no credible plan to achieve this goal.
Politicians talking about these issues may help, but only if factual information is put forward.
C Scott
Mortonhall Road, Edinburgh

SAS Volunteer

We publish content from 3rd party sources for educational purposes. We operate as a not-for-profit and do not make any revenue from the website. If you have content published on this site that you feel infringes your copyright please contact: webmaster@scotlandagainstspin.org to have the appropriate credit provided or the offending article removed.

0 Comments

Leave a Reply

Avatar placeholder

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *