Wind energy policy has failed Scotland

Sir, - Your reports (November 2) show vast evidence of continuing applications for wind turbine installations all over many beautiful parts of Scotland as well as plans for huge arrays of offshore wind turbines.

That is very disturbing and damaging because although wind-generated electricity is advertised as cheap, creating employment and cutting CO2 output, all the evidence shows that none of these aims have been realised.

The first appointed scientific adviser to the Scottish Government advised politicians not to go ahead with wind turbines until vastly improved means of storing electricity were available because of the severe intermittency of wind generation.

His advice was rejected but proved sound, so that now, only a very small proportion of our electricity is derived from wind because constant back up with conventionally produced electricity is needed.

Forty years worth of depressing wind turbine experience in California was ignored and no pilot projects done to determine renewables’ viability here.

Politicians are elected to get the best deals for the nation and the voters but here we have been given the worst by the wind industry.

Our countryside is being ruined, our finances damaged and the only gainers are developers, foreign manufacturers and landowners.

Money, which should have been spent on useful purposes, is frittered away.

Those responsible for continuing this crazy wind turbine-generated electricity scheme should never be forgiven.