Energy minister Michael Fallon orders wind farms to cut compensation charges as figures show they are paid millions for turbines to stand still in stormy weather By Tim Ross, Political Correspondent Onshore wind farms are being paid £30 million a year to sit idle during the windiest weather. The payments Read more
Tom Gordon Scottish Political Editor A LEADING member of Ukip has been accused of hypocrisy after striking wind-farm deals for his Scottish estates despite the party’s vehement opposition to “ghastly” turbines. Ukip economic spokesman Professor Tim Congdon, a leading Thatcherite economist, has cashed in on deals with SSE in Argyll Read more
by SCOTT MACNAB PLANS to create a new energy department for an independent Scotland which will be co-headquartered in Aberdeen and Glasgow have been unveiled by First Minister Alex Salmond. It will have a staff of about 300 across both centres, with the aim of capitalising on the experience of Read more
Carolyn Churchill CONSERVATIONISTS have welcomed a “major U-turn” by an energy company, which has withdrawn plans for a wind farm that was to be the subject of a public inquiry. SSE said yesterday it would no longer apply to build the Dalnessie wind farm in Sutherland. It is also dropping Read more
The creation of a wind turbine at Bonnykelly near New Pitsligo would cause “unacceptable interference” for radar. That’s the blunt message from Aberdeen International Airport which says that the introduction of an additional turbine in the area would create unacceptable clutter on radar screens. Applicant Roy Mathieson of Elgin has Read more
Kelso community councillors did not object to plans for a wind turbine on an industrial estate because they thought it was for a local factory. At last week’s February meeting of Kelso Community Council, members discussed the planning application for a 67m turbine on a site close to the Border Read more
Tim Webb A planned expansion of the world’s largest wind farm has been abandoned because of the impact on the local population of red-throated divers. The developers behind the £1.9 billion London Array had intended to add 100 turbines to the 175 already fixed to the seabed off the Kent Read more
There are many interesting questions one can raise about how climate scientists and economists model both climate change and the human contribution to it. But I’m not going to discuss any of those here. I’m going to take as a given that global warming does exist and has many accepted, Read more