Scotsman letters
Just wind
Richard Dixon makes much of what he describes as the benevolent enthusiasm of wind farm operators who have “donated” some £25 million to communities that have been impacted by their presence (Sustainable Scotland, 4 May). Let’s be honest, this is no warm-hearted gesture. When set against the exhorbitant profits generated by what are predominantly foreign-owned companies, this is a tiny proportion of the money we have already paid in our electricity bills.
Nor should we forget that extremes of wind speed which render wind farms inoperable, as well as the grid’s inability to handle optimum output, brings in a further £227 million per year in “constraint payments”. Such apparent benevolence is little short of bribery to help overcome any local opponents who, having been given a token opportunity to sample due “democratic process”, invariably find themselves overruled by government dictat. One community I know of in a beautiful Borders valley, after ten years appears to be running out of ideas as to how to spend this apparent largesse. It has come up with the idea of providing £500 worth of driving lessons for those who need them as well as “free” lap tops. This same valley is currently threatened with 20 more windmills to add to the 1,500 that already blight the Scottish landscape.
Neil J Bryce, Kelso, Scottish Borders
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