Going green

Victor Clements was not entirely correct in his claim that the Scottish Parliament is not accountable for the costs of the green levy poll tax that pays the subsidies of the Scottish renewable sector (Letters, 11 January). Whilst he is correct in claiming that 92 per cent of the green levies are paid by English and Welsh consumers, he failed to point out the risk that would occur should there ever be a Yes vote.

The warning from former MP Brian Wilson highlights that these arrangements would be illegal under European Regulations in an independent Scotland. One risk arises from the Salmond/sturgeon manifesto commitment in 2011 to install 12,000MW of wind turbines by 2020.

If the Global Warming hypothesis is correct then during warm summer days when Scottish demand can be met by Peterhead Power Station, the air over the land heating faster than that over the ocean ensures a stiff breeze that will require 12,000MW of wind turbines to be constrained to ensure grid stability. This comes at an annual cost of £7.2bn which means a green levy poll tax of around £3,000 per Scottish household.it makes the Northern Irish bill of £0.4 billion seem a bargain!

A second risk to Scotland’s economy will arise from prolonged high pressure over the winter. My estimate is there would be a resultant cost of £12.5bn but perhaps the Holyrood Energy Committee could provide a better estimate for Victor Clements. Note that the majority of Scottish subsidies are paid to the well-off, the wealthy and the rich with their solar panels, biomass units and wind turbines.

Will these risks to the Scottish economy be included in a second White Paper on Independence or are those in fuel poverty simply expected to pick up the subsidy bill for the green levy poll tax? The commitment from Holyrood to eliminate such poverty by 2016 remains yet another unfulfilled promise.

IAN MOIR Queen Street, Castle Douglas Is anybody else getting a little bit tired of the airtime being given to the Scottish Greens leader Patrick Harvie?

He continually tells us we will get a second independence referendum when he and his party back the SNP, says we should be paying destructively higher rates of income tax and he would simply destroy what is left of a very fragile oil industry with no coherent answer as to the impact this would have on people’s lives. It is time for him and the electorate to remember that the Geen Party did not win a single Constituency seat in the Scottish elections last year, with a total vote of around 13,000 people equating to a 0.60 per cent share of the vote.

He does not “speak for the people of Scotland” but unfortunately with six Regional List seats, his power of representation will be inflated as the SNP look to do deals with anybody and anything to trigger Indyref2.

RICHARD ALLISON Braehead Loan, Edinburgh