Scotland on Sunday - Opinion - Wind = direction changes



	Sunday, 31st=20 July 2005

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Sun 31 Jul=20 2005

Powering = down: A=20 new approach to wind farms by the = Executive should=20 please opponents like David=20 Bellamy.
Photograph: Ian=20 = Rutherford

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Wind direction changes =

MURDO MacLEOD AND JEREMY = WATSON=20

FOR Peter Carruthers, even the name "wind farm" is = an=20 Orwellian attempt to make vast industrial developments = sound=20 cuddly, playing down the image of huge whistling = turbines and=20 encouraging the image of beaming farmers in wellies = watching=20 green energy being generated.

Living by the shores of Loch Awe in Argyll, = Carruthers -=20 who runs a bed and breakfast in the village of = Kilchrenan -=20 believes that the local economy is under threat from = the=20 invasion of the turbines, which recall the War of the = Worlds=20 more than Old MacDonald. There are seven "wind = factories" in=20 the pipeline, at various stages of planning, around = the loch.=20

Now he hopes that the penny may finally be dropping = for the=20 Scottish Executive as it has performed a major U-turn = in its=20 wind power policy, warning that many applications are=20 "speculative" and will not be granted, reducing = targets for=20 renewables, and announcing more focus for other kinds = of green=20 energy.

Carruthers said: "It has finally dawned on the = Executive=20 that they are going nowhere with this pursuit of wind = farms as=20 they don't give anything like the supply of = electricity=20 promised. They are already yesterday's technology. Far = better=20 to concentrate on something which will be more = reliable, such=20 as power from the sea."

Almost unnoticed, ministers have changed their = policy=20 towards wind-farming, which up until now has = emphasised=20 onshore wind to the exclusion of almost all else and = set=20 ambitious targets for how much of Scotland's power can = be=20 generated from green sources.

At a stroke, the Executive has lowered its estimate = of how=20 much electricity it thinks can be produced by = renewable power=20 north of the Border, and signalled that it wants to = move to=20 other forms of green energy. It is also considering = new=20 guidelines to protect landscapes from being damaged by = large=20 wind developments, including considering the = "cumulative=20 impact" of a large number of developments in a single = area.=20

The change in policy is a major victory for = campaigners,=20 including Scotland on Sunday, who have argued against = a=20 headlong rush to cover large, scenic areas of Scotland = with=20 wind turbines in the hope that Scotland and the UK = would be=20 seen as "doing their bit" against global warming.

High-profile opponents include Professor David = Bellamy, the=20 environmental campaigner who is alarmed about the = encroachment=20 of wind farms on wildlife sites, and Sir Jeremy = Isaacs, the=20 former head of Channel Four, who has a holiday cottage = close=20 to a proposed wind farm on Skye.

Until now, the Executive has aimed to have 40% of = the=20 electricity produced in Scotland coming from green = power by=20 2020. But that target has now been changed to 40% of = the=20 electricity needed in Scotland. The distinction = matters=20 because Scotland produces more energy than it needs = and is a=20 net exporter of power. The change in wording has = reduced the=20 amount of power Scotland must find from renewables by = about=20 25%.

In addition, the new strategy will see far more = regard=20 given to the environmental impact of wind = developments. That=20 will mean that many of the current applications for = wind farms=20 are likely to be rejected. Ministers have already gone = so far=20 as to say that many are "speculative".

Moreover, there will be more emphasis on other = forms of=20 renewable energy, such as offshore wind, wave and = tidal power,=20 and 'biomass', the burning of crops grown for fuel, = such as=20 tree saplings.

Nicol Stephen, the Minister for Enterprise and = Deputy First=20 Minister, said: "The Forum for Renewable Energy = Development in=20 Scotland, which I chair, considers that many of the = current=20 proposals for onshore wind development are speculative = and are=20 likely to drop out of the system."

He said ministers had "made clear our aim to see = Scotland's=20 renewable electricity generation targets being met = through the=20 development of a range of technologies and we will = bring=20 forward detailed proposals in order to achieve that = aim."

The talk of a "range of technologies" is crucial = for=20 objectors to the march of the wind farms. Critics = claim that=20 because the turbines only work when the wind is = blowing at=20 optimum speeds, they will never supply all the power = needed.=20 They argue that it would be far better to focus more = on wave=20 and tidal power which are not as variable.

Brian Wilson, the former UK energy minister, said = of the=20 changes in policy: "This is a significant redefinition = and it=20 is probably more realistic. Ministers face the = challenge of=20 making sure enough projects go ahead so that there is = the=20 capacity in the renewables sector to meet the targets. = They=20 are right, too, to emphasise other kinds of renewable = power=20 rather than onshore wind alone. "

Even the pro-wind-power lobby, the Scottish = Renewables=20 Forum, agree that some of the planning applications = are=20 speculative. But they insist that onshore wind farms = still=20 matter. It is argued that unless the wind farms are = built now,=20 there will not be the infrastructure available to = transmit=20 future forms of green energy around the country.

That idea that wind farms should be built now in = order to=20 ensure the grids and connectors are there for the = likes of=20 offshore winds and wave power fills campaigners with = horror.=20 They worry that their landscapes will be damaged in = the cause=20 of a doomed "interim technology", the equivalent of = buying a=20 Betamax video, but with far more solemn consequences. =

Some worry too that the Executive's move has been = short on=20 the vital detail of how and why developments will be = blocked.=20

A spokeswoman for the anti-turbine group, Views of=20 Scotland, said: "Nicol Stephen's predecessor, Jim = Wallace,=20 never turned down anything. Does this mean some will = now be=20 turned down? That would be welcome, but there is no = indication=20 in any of this what the criteria will be."

Bob Graham, of the Highlands-based campaign Protect = Rural=20 Scotland, said: "It's fine for ministers to say that = these=20 applications are speculative, but what we see in my = area is=20 applications being rubber-stamped and developers = rushing ahead=20 before the government realise that the technology = doesn't work=20 and won't bring the clean power they have promised. = The only=20 thing that will work is a moratorium on wind farm=20 developments."

The Green Party said it approved of the ministerial = announcements on moving towards a national planning = strategy=20 for wind farms and a greater focus on "cumulative = impact".=20

Green MSP Mark Ballard said: "We have long been = arguing for=20 a review of planning guidance and the need to assess=20 applications in rounds, rather than one by one."

Hovering in the background of the wind power = announcement=20 is the "n-word", the power source which dare not speak = its=20 name. For many in the green lobby, atomic power is the = ultimate bogeyman, blighting landscapes and producing = waste=20 which is difficult to dispose of safely. But in recent = years,=20 the nuclear industry's green credentials have become = more=20 relevant for governments intent of tackling global = warming by=20 reducing emissions of carbon dioxide, the main = greenhouse gas.=20

First Minister Jack McConnell is understood to be = softening=20 in his previous opposition to any new nuclear power = stations=20 north of the Border, despite the hostility of = coalition=20 partners the Lib Dems.

Although energy policy, including nuclear power, is = an area=20 reserved to Westminster, the Scottish Parliament = controls=20 planning, meaning that an anti-nuclear majority of = MSPs could=20 stop the building of new nuclear power stations.

Peace in the coalition has been secured by ruling = that no=20 new stations will be built before experts come up with = a=20 solution to the problem of what to do with nuclear = waste,=20 effectively deferring a decision until a government = panel,=20 which is reviewing the issue, publishes a report next = year.=20

But as the report approaches, and the time for a = decision=20 nears, McConnell is understood to be relaxing his = opposition,=20 by insisting that the decision should depend on = whether the=20 panel comes up with a solution as to how to dispose of = waste.=20 If the panel comes up with an answer, it is argued, = then that=20 should be seen as the green light for new nuclear = power north=20 of the Border.

The change of heart in the Executive is also being = helped=20 on by the fact that the UK government is increasingly = coming=20 to the view that it needs more nuclear power.

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Tony Blair said=20 administrations which refused to consider nuclear = power as=20 part to future energy supply were not being = "responsible".=20

And the Scottish Executive's chief scientific = adviser,=20 Professor Wilson Sibbett, has also warned of the = "extremely=20 high risks" to power supplies if the country is forced = to rely=20 on wind farms and renewable sources for its = electricity.

One source close to McConnell said: "Jack has = changed his=20 approach. He has been under pressure from London and = many of=20 his colleagues to leave the nuclear option open.

"He is preparing the ground to give himself much = more=20 wriggle room for manoeuvre by saying that the decision = depends=20 on whether the experts believe that waste can be dealt = with=20 safely. Jack knows that he doesn't have to make a = decision yet=20 but he is preparing the ground for the time when he, = or=20 another First Minister, must."

How the various options = compare

=E2=80=A2 ONSHORE WIND. Has the advantage of being = relatively=20 straightforward to install. The disadvantages include = the fact=20 that they are unpopular with locals, who regard them = as a=20 blight on the landscape, and they only work when the = wind=20 blows.

=E2=80=A2 OFFSHORE WIND. Less likely to prompt = objections from=20 locals, but much more expensive to install and = maintain. Could=20 lead to environmental objections because of the risks = to=20 seabirds, fish and dolphins.

=E2=80=A2 TIDAL POWER. Much more reliable than any = variant of wind=20 power. The tides always come in regardless of how = strong the=20 wind is. But tidal power is less developed as a power = source=20 than wind, and the technology is expensive to buy, = install and=20 run.

=E2=80=A2 WAVE POWER. Tidal power's less reliable = but more advanced=20 cousin. Wave power depends on the strength of the = wind, but is=20 still a much better bet than wind power. But all the = coastal=20 options must overcome the problem of sending power to=20 population centres on land.

=E2=80=A2 BIOMASS. One of humankind's oldest forms = of fuel. The=20 plan envisages burning wood in huge power plants. = Fast-growing=20 species of trees would be cultivated for this purpose. = The=20 problem is that it fails to deal with the problem of = the=20 greenhouse gases produced by burning most kinds of = fuel.

=E2=80=A2 CARBON SCRUBBING TECHNOLOGIES. The most = adventurous way=20 in which the forms of energy currently in use can = continue. It=20 envisages attaching special filters to power stations = using=20 coal, oil, and gas so that they capture gases such as = carbon=20 dioxide. The disadvantage is that pollutants are only = reduced,=20 not eliminated.

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	Scottish = Renewables
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	British Wind Energy = Association
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