Is it inevitable that Scotland will be covered with windfarms?
About a month ago, - the aim is that 80 per cent of Scottish electricity consumption should come from renewables by 2020. According to figures from , there are currently 84 windfarms in Scotland.
What is more interesting is that there are 88 approved windfarms in the pipeline, subject to meeting planning conditions, 14 under construction and 96 going through planning. If all this goes ahead, then we'll see the number of windfarms more than treble in the short term. According to ice cream magnate, , bigger is better. He's trying to encourage the rural sector to have a slice of the wind power pie, urging farmers and rural businesses to get together and invest in massive turbines so that the profits come directly back to the community, rather than the power companies.
Meanwhile, former protesters have told us they have given up trying to oppose wind farms because they feel powerless. But with the promise of thousands of potential jobs through such developments - complimented by offshore wind, wave and tidal power too - can anyone really argue against the renewables revolution?
All these arguments and more will be explored on Out of Doors on Saturday morning from six thirty - this week our usual presenters are away, so Newsdrive's Bill Whiteford takes the helm.
UPDATE 18 October 15:00, Read Bill's account of presenting Out of Doors.
Comment number 1.
At 17th Oct 2010, Sandy Main wrote:It should take no more than 30 seconds to work out that Wind Farms CANNOT effectively or reliably produce even a fraction of the electricity that is increasingly demanded in our ever expanding,energy hungry country.
This is a completely corrupt social phenomenon which is rapidly taking hold among a new class of people and companies who are out to profit from a completely false market, which is being paid for by consumers, Taxpayers and future Electricity consumers.
I and thousands of ordinary people are shocked and angry at the incessant spread of these riduculous machines which now despoil our fantasic scenery.
Sandy Main
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Comment number 2.
At 18th Oct 2010, The Stainless Steel Cat wrote:While I actually think wind turbines are a beautiful addition to the landscape (blame that on being brought up on Dan Dare comic strips if you want!) I think they're only a small part of the power supply problem and focusing on them is a poor idea.
Much better would be tidal power plants, especially on the west coast. They produce constant power - so the wind-doesn't-blow-all-the-time argument against wind turbines doesn't apply - they're mostly hidden - so the "despoiling" argument doesn't apply either - and there's a range of different designs being developed to suit all conditions.
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