Turbine windfalls at public expense

SIR, – Hearing from WWF Scotland that wind turbine electricity generation exceeded demand in Scotland on 16 out of 31 days in October may not be the good news that many people may suppose, especially for us taxpayers.

It means that vast amounts of money were paid out to the various wind farm companies in the form of constraint payments – ie being paid not to produce electricity when there is an excess in the system. In fact, £5 million was paid out in just one day during October, I believe. Surely that money could have been used more wisely? I have often wondered if the opposite is true: Do the wind farm companies get fined when the wind fails to blow and they cannot produce any electricity? Somehow, I suspect not.

This supposedly upbeat news has made me ask myself another question: If things are so rosy for the wind farm industry in Scotland, why are there still many hundreds, if not thousands, of industrial-scale turbines hoping to be built and going through the planning system as I write? I thought WWF Scotland have just said we have more than we need already. But then again, think of all those extra constraint payments that will surely multiply as each new wind farm gets connected to the grid! Easy money for some, but not for most of us, I fear. Chris Davis, Maryhill, Fochabers