Letter To Editor Re Winter Weather Generates Scottish Wind Power Boost

7 January 2015 LETTER TO EDITOR RE: WINTER WEATHER GENERATES SCOTTISH WIND-POWER BOOST - http://goo.gl/xQE4TI SIR, I notice that in response to the misleading electricity figures posted by WWF "(5 January, Scottish Energy News, and letter by Dr David Gordon, 6 January") you carried a quote by Rob Gibson, SNP MSP, to the effect that Scotland?s renewable energy generation will keep electricity bills down. It was not made clear by Mr Gibson how by generating the most expensive electricity in the UK, renewables could do anything other than increase costs. Such uninformed or ill thought-out understanding, which I suspect is common in Holyrood about electricity generation, might explain why this government has taken a direction that is going to lead either to penury or an unmanageable and hideously-expensive electricity supply. Much of the political support for renewables was based on the notion that oil and gas costs would keep rising thus making even wind energy look cheap! Reality has far outstripped such flawed predictions. Scotland needs cheap electricity, the cheaper the better, because electricity is the life blood of any economy and there is a clear relation between the price of electricity and economic activity. Potential blackouts are expected next winter with high probability the result of politicians using generating policy for slogans or other political purposes. Politicians are not trustworthy with generating policy; they and usually their civil servants are not qualified to deal with the issues of supply security. The SNP took the populist route of rejecting further nuclear power stations which would instead have provided cheap reliable electricity and avoided the collateral damage that wind turbines inflict on landscape, wild life and rural life. It is time to start educating the general public about nuclear power and I would hope that Scottish Energy News would be seen in the forefront of this necessary activity. PROFESSOR TONY TREWAVAS (FRS) SCIENTIFIC ALLIANCE SCOTLAND 7-9 NORTH ST DAVID STREET EDINBURGH EH2 1AW