Scotland’s hills home to half UK’s wind turbines
Summer sun shines on sea of golden daffodils
SCOTLAND is now home to more than half of the UK’s wind farms as a result of the SNP’s ‘ ludicrous’ turbine obsession.
There are 2,315 turbines north of the Border, out of just 4,350 UK-wide, despite Scotland having only 10 per cent of the population.
The Renewable UK figure does not even include the 405 currently under construction.
Murdo Fraser, Scottish Conservative energy spokesman, said: ‘It is quite incredible to think that, despite only consuming less than 10 per cent of the UK’s energy, Scotland has to suffer 50 per cent of the wind turbines.
‘What is more worrying is these figures do not even take into account wind farms which are under construction, given consent, or are in the midst of the planning process.
‘There is a place for wind farms, but the Scottish Government has allowed this to get out of control. It is ludicrous to put such emphasis on intermittent and unreliable energy sources which can damage the landscape for thousands of residents and tourists.’
Last year ministers unveiled proposals to outlaw turbines in national parks and designated scenic areas.
But that will only protect around one-fifth of Scotland’s land and makes it more likely that they will be concentrated in other areas, where most of the population lives.
Linda Holt, spokesman for Scotland Against Spin, said: ‘The First Minister’s win-win situation has turned out to be a lose-lose for Scotland.
‘ First, onshore wind has delivered precious little for the Scottish economy.
‘We have no indigenous wind industry like Germany or Denmark, and there are next to no jobs for locals beyond supplying
sandwiches and cement during construction or picking up the dead birds on wind farms.
‘The huge profits in developing and running wind farms flow out of the country to multinationals and private shareholders, and Scotland sees none of the tax revenue.
‘Second, Mr Salmond attracted international wind developers by making sure planning permission
‘Energy policy unsustainable’
would be much easier to get in Scotland. So we have a planning regime which puts the interests of developers before the need to protect local communities, businesses and environments.’
She added: ‘The First Minister’s obsession with wind energy has made Scotland’s energy policy economically, socially and environmentally unsustainable.’
Joss Blamire, senior policy manager at Scottish Renewables, said: ‘The reason Scotland has more onshore wind farms than England and Wales is simple: Scotland is the windiest country in Europe.
‘Scotland is taking advantage of that and using onshore wind to bring significant, benefits to its economy and environment.
‘Renewables generate the equivalent of almost half of our electricity, with almost two thirds of that figure being onshore wind.
‘The sector employs almost 3,400 people and invested £3.5billion in the economy in the last three years, as well as contributing to a 30 per cent drop in the amount of CO2 emitted by Scotland between 1990 and 2011.’
A spokesman for Fergus Ewing, Scottish Energy Minsiter, added: ‘Our commitment to harnessing Scotland’s energy wealth – both onshore and offshore, and in the right locations – will ensure that renewables continue to provide low carbon energy supplies as well as jobs, investment, and opportunities for Scotland’s communities long into the future.’