WIND FARMS-ARE THEY GOOD OR BAD-YOU DECIDE

I've not really made up my mind about WIND FARMS.  Do we need to care about climate change?  If so, is Nuclear a better option than wind?  Here's some good and bad points:

Arguments in favour of wind farms

• The UK needs to meet a target to generate 15 per cent of energy from renewables by 2020 as part of global plans to fight climate change.
• The technology produces no greenhouse gases once it has been installed.
• Wind farms will decrease reliance on volatile energy supplies from abroad.
• Manufacturing and installing wind farms in the UK will provide ‘green jobs’
• The technology is becoming cheaper as wind farms are built around the world.

Arguments against wind farms

• The turbines usually have to be sited in isolated windy spots, that are also often areas of outstanding natural beauty.
• The noise from wind turbines has been blamed for health problems including stress and insomnia.
• Wind turbines only work at maximum capacity for a third of time, meaning they have to be backed up by other technologies such as coal and nuclear.
• The inconsistent power generated by by wind farms requires the grid to be upgraded to cope with the surges in power.
• Wind farms are expensive to build and only last up to 25 years. 

WHAT DO YOU THINK??  There's a poll on right for your votes.  Comments as usual are very welcome.

SCOTISH GOVERNMENT LOOK TO BE WINNING FIGHT TO SAFEGUARD RENEWABLES INDUSTRY

Alex Salmond has been thrown an unexpected lifeline by the UK Government in his campaign to stop the National Grid imposing punitive charges which threaten the future development of renewable power by Scottish electricity companies.

A six-month consultation by the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) in London has concluded that connection charges should be levied evenly on all developers regardless of where they are located or the difficulty of connecting.  If implemented, this policy would mean that remote sources of alternative energy — such as the Highlands — would not face the current high connection costs which threatened to make many of Scotland’s wind farms unviable.

The notion that you should pay extra to connect into the National Grid because you are further away from the main areas of usage is ridiculous.  Scotland is self-sufficient in power and has a capacity to produce 25% of all Europe's renewable energy. 

There's is a huge potential for this country in terms of employment and wealth in the renewables industry and this time we must not let it be plundered by our near neighbours.  This opportunity must be exploited by Scots for Scots.  If the 'National Grid' wants to discriminate against Scottish producers, fine.  Just construct an UDERWATER CABLE to Europe and we'll export direct to the continent.