Objectors won’t find it a breeze to block wind farm plans

IF those organisations who are already planning their defence against wind farm applications think for one moment that it will now be plain sailing as a result of the recent Government pronouncement, they are living in cloud cuckoo land. Central government rarely relinquishes such power so easily.

Neither does a government that has so obviously got its policy wrong on making the UK eventually independent of imported fossil fuels admit it by implementing such an about-turn on policy.

And on a related note, in the interests of fairness and equality, the in-words at the moment (gay marriage and all that), I hope that those areas that have had wind farms imposed on them and have or have not received some sort of community payment will have them enhanced or implemented to bring them into line with the more generous payments now being proposed.

When all is said and done, don’t such payments come out of the generous subsidies the wind farm companies get from central government, ie from our money? Had the wind farm companies, right from the word go, implemented a policy of cheaper electricity to those households within a certain distance from the wind farm, they would undoubtedly have received less opposition. But for their own reasons they decided not to go down that line, and I can’t personally see a reverse in policy now because those reasons will not have changed.

From: Arthur Quarmby, Underhill, Holme.

BY far the biggest story last week passed by unnoticed by the mass of the media. Perhaps because it is so unbelievably horrifying.

On Tuesday, June 4, the House of Commons passed the Energy Bill by a whopping majority of 396 votes to eight.

Yet inserted in the Bill at a late stage and perhaps unnoticed by the House (and certainly not explained to them) is an amendment which states that by 2020 Britain must reduce its energy consumption by 27 per cent, rising to 40 per cent by 2030.

The Government seems to have no idea as to how this might be achieved; we know that power cuts are just around the corner, but this seems to be their answer to that problem; cut the supply as a matter of policy, and somehow the problem of “load-shedding” will get lost.

Not the only thing which will get lost. Civilisation, business, everyday life depends utterly on a reliable supply of electricity.

Business will quit the country in droves; no computers, no TV, no mobile phones, no petrol or diesel at the pumps; I always thought our politicians were astonishingly stupid. Now I realise that they are also mad.

From: David F Chambers, Northallerton.

THE emotive term “fuel poverty” has been much used over the past years. Difficulty in paying the electric bill has lately increased due to the past winter being harsh and extended and due also to electricity charges rising faster than ever.

We can rest assured however that those in charge of our national energy policy are guarding us against the far worse threat of global warming. In Europe in many cases they are introducing artificially high prices for electricity to reduce demand, while our own government is planning to do even better.

A few days ago, unnoticed, the House of Commons voted 396 to eight for a Bill that will compulsorily limit the amount of electricity we are permitted to use in our homes – a cut of 27 per cent by 2020 followed by a further cut to over 40 per cent. We may feel that this is impracticable, damaging, undemocratic and totally unacceptable, but the thought is there.

Outside, you may notice the blades on your neighbourhood wind farm are barely turning and some actually stationary. But again, rest assured, some thousands more wind farms are planned.

Of course, if the evidence prompting the present concern over global warming, carbon dioxide, the greenhouse effect and so on were re-examined honestly and non-politically the whole situation might change completely, much to the relief of our grandchildren.

From: Mrs Edna Austin, Brough Street, Goole.

WITH reference to Barrie Frost’s letter about energy (Yorkshire Post, June 12) please inform him that the nearest port to Drax power station is not Hull, as he stated, but Goole which is only about eight miles away.