Herald letters

Epic Failures on Wind Energy

Well done to the Ferret and the Herald for their excellent articles on wind farmers, obscene profits and tax avoidance.

We have known for years that LLPs who operate windfarms send their revenues to tax havens overseas, where they are (not) taxed. From there benefits can flow to individuals anywhere in the world. Nothing accrues to the UK Exchequer. Putting it right is very complicated, because you have to say that what they are doing is unlawful and it’s not.

Now that the box has been opened, it will be hard to close without nationalising all energy production. Can anyone see that golden goose being killed?

Imagine if you started with a blank canvas. Would you not have a strategy for windfarms, a compulsory development budget, a dedicated overseer and a taxation policy reflecting the massive earnings. Would you not have greater local authority and local community involvement in every case? Would you not have accountability and transparency? Epic failure all round.

Everyone should be getting behind the Scotland Against Spin Petition to the Scottish Parliament which seeks to Increase the ability of communities to influence planning decisions for onshore wind farms and boldly asks for things no-one has asked for before! It’s a step in the right direction.

Aileen Jackson

Knockglass

Uplawmoor

CONGRATULATIONS to The Herald and the Ferret for the important and informative series on Who Runs Scotland (The Herald, July 12, 13 & 14). These issues on the Scottish economy and polity have been of concern to some academic and campaign groups but are seldom discussed and critically examined in the mainstream media, even less so in mainstream politics. Thank you for asking the serious questions about where power lies and who are making or influencing the decisions affecting many lives. And of course who are profiting.

There has been much justifiable anger about the contrast between how Norway managed her oil resources and how Scotland’s resources were managed by the UK Government. Norway now has a massive sovereign wealth fund for its future security. But Scotland’s renewable resources and their great future potential are being managed in a similar way to Scotland’s oil. The Holyrood Government has shown little ambition and initiative in controlling these resources for Scotland’s long-term benefit. Its members have not been entrepreneurial guardians but mediocre middle-managers with doors and phone-lines open to corporate lobbying.

Let’s hope this series will promote some political developments with real substance, but that is more optimistic than realistic..

Isobel Lindsay, Biggar.

YOUR article concerning Scottish wind farm owners states that there is no evidence that any of the companies are breaking the law. This is not surprising because there are no laws which support any attempt to control the various tax fiddles so successfully engineered by the financial services industry in London. We are constantly informed of the importance of this industry to the country’s economy but never informed of the many billions lost to the economy due to the activities of some City operators in tax evasion, money laundering and gambling.

It appears that the maintenance of a largely parasitic financial sector is too important for any government to attempt to control it by law.

Peter Dryburgh, Edinburgh.