NICK Dekker (Letters, February 15) is misinformed regarding the costs of renewable generation in an independent Scotland. It was made quite clear by Westminster in the run-up to the 2014 referendum that should Scotland decide to separate from the rest of the UK that 92 per cent of consumers would not pay for Scottish wind farms. That would leave billions of pounds over the guaranteed subsidy lifetime of thousands of turbines paid by the remaining eight per cent of consumers here in Scotland. Our bills would go stratospheric, creating unbelievable fuel poverty and misery for, in particular, our vulnerable citizens.
This matter was not addressed by the SNP in 2014 and I haven’t heard a word since about how we would manage paying these eye-watering sums of money if we left the Union apart from saying we will sell all this wind energy to others. However, that supposes when we have wind others don’t and the grid can actually cope. In addition, in times of high demand those cold, still winter highs often sit above all of the UK and a lot of Europe and no-one has any wind or little energy to spare.
The Scottish Government continues to approve industrial wind farm schemes by multinationals and refuses its own communities the veto England enjoys which serves to encourage even more. The constraints bill as at February 14 was £524,472,833 and it continues to grow each year – most of this money has been paid to Scottish wind farms by the consumer.
Would we have that burden too in an independent Scotland? Perhaps Energy Minister Paul Wheelhouse could enlighten us.
Lindsey Ward,
Darach Brae, Beauly.
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