Boris Johnson holds out dark prospects for windless winter nights

sir – Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, clearly has a sketchy understanding of the physics of wind power. One problem is intermittency, since wind does not blow constantly, and so a baseload generating capacity by other means must be maintained.

The other major problem is cost. Mr Johnson states that it will be cheaper than coal or gas. That will take some doing, as electricity is already seven times the cost of gas, thanks in part to subsidies to wind-power generators.

At present my house is heated by gas, costing about £800 a year. To provide all that energy via electricity would push the cost over £5,000.

If we are to depend entirely on wind power, what will happen on a cold windless winter night when everyone tries to charge their electric cars, heat their houses and cook their dinners? Peter Crawford

Sheffield, South Yorkshire

sir – Every house will be powered by wind, claims our PM. The capacity required and the variable demand are very much against this claim. When one considers the extra demand of electric-vehicle charging and domestic conversion from gas, it makes the gap between demand and capacity vast.

Could Boris Johnson please present his homework to justify his claim? Michael Marks

Glascwm, Radnorshire

sir – If you believe Boris Johnson’s avowal that “wind will power every UK home by 2030”, you believe in hot air.

Has the economic case been made for deep-water wind turbines over other forms of renewable energy? No.

Only in the windmills of his mind does this make any sense.

Alasdair Ogilvy

Stedham, West Sussex

sir – The PM wants everything that drives our modern economy to become reliant on the wind. The move to electricity generation being supply-led, not demand-led, exposes the true purpose behind smart meters.

When there’s not enough wind to go around, some of the population will see their power disconnected to balance the grid. No doubt British companies will respond to become world leaders in candle manufacturing.

Neil Bailey

Stockport, Cheshire

sir – A hydrogen-powered aircraft is in the air, hydrogen-powered trains are set to be on the rails in three years’ time, yet the Government persists in forcing electrically powered cars on the country by arbitrary deadlines.

Something wrong there?

John Lavender

Port Erin, Isle of Man

sir – That, as Boris Johnson says, the UK is to wind what Saudi Arabia is to oil fills me with pride and optimism for future generations. It can be only a matter of time before supertankers full of UK wind are sailing the seven seas delivering our very finest air to all corners of the globe.

Richard Holloway

Nailsea, Somerset