Turbines ‘annihilating’ Scotland’s landscape

Sir,

I write with regard to the article in the April 30 edition of the Argyllshire Advertiser – ‘Ignored’ communities call for pause to windfarms’.

In the article, Claire Mack, chief executive of Scottish Renewables, is quoted as saying: ‘The latest UK Government figures show that only 10 per cent of Scots are opposed to the development of onshore wind.

‘That data is supported by further research, carried out specifically in rural Scotland, which additionally showed higher support for onshore wind power among young people.’

The question posed by the surveyor should, of course, have been: ‘Are you opposed to further development of onshore wind?’

In Scotland today we have 4,394 operational turbines over 100KW.

That’s more than the rest of the UK put together.

We also have 1,234 consented; 316 under construction and a further 1,722 in the planning system according to an Freedom of Information response from the Scottish Government.

These figures change almost daily as applications continue to pile in unabated.

How many people are going to continue to support onshore wind when they witness the total annihilation of this country?

It would also be interesting to know exactly where the data from ‘rural Scotland’ was collected.

Was it perhaps in an area where there were no wind farms in sight of the communities which were questioned but where they were still able to take advantage of any community benefit on offer?

If successful, the public petition recently submitted to the Scottish Parliament by campaign group Scotland Against Spin should help to clarify exactly how much support there really is for further onshore wind development in Scotland.

Aileen Jackson, Knockglass, Uplawmoor.