MANY think that Scotland is a net exporter of electricity, and in the sense that the volume of electricity generated by the many windmills situated here, and fed into the National Grid, could sometimes be in excess of our requirements, that could be true. However, The Scottish Government does not own any onshore or offshore wind farms, directly or otherwise, as the Scottish Government website will confirm.
All UK wind farms are owned by various private enterprises, mostly foreign, who sell their electricity to the National Grid, and then Scotland is allocated a share of that electricity, based on population.
READ MORE: Scotland could have 'cheapest electricity in Europe', says energy CEO
To retain the output of windmills based here, Scotland would have to become an independent nation and then nationalise them.
Similarly, it was never Scotland’s oil. That also belonged to its discoverers and developers, as the UK Government had chosen nuclear as the way forward at that time, so allowed oil to be owned by its discoverers in exchange for rentals and VAT and licences and various output levies, but not the profit from the sale of the oil itself, which remained with its developers and still does.
Same with wind, except the UK pays subsidies to wind farms, so they are actually a cost as opposed to a benefit, and also give us some of the most expensive part-time electricity in the world.
UK energy policy is a classic example of political ineptitude and lack of long-term thinking. The present UK Government now proposes banning all fossil fuel development, so we will definitely have an energy shortfall with inevitable rationing, hence the real reason for smart meters, as the reality of our situation finally became obvious to government some time ago.
Malcolm Parkin
Kinross
THE FM meets the PM and discussions are had. It appears they talked about saving Grangemouth. Let us look at the prognosis of this. There was no way a Tory government were going to enter into any sort of deal to keep it open as their hatred of the SNP was overriding any common sense.
Enter Sir Keir, making all the right noises regarding this subject. Bear in mind that if a deal was to be done with the Labour Party then it would not cost Westminster a penny as they can print any amount of money they like! On the other hand, the SNP would have to stump up real money. Where is that going to come from, as we do not have two bawbees to rub together and there are multiple wage negotiations coming down the track.
READ MORE: Scottish and UK governments jointly fund £1.6m Grangemouth review
This is a win-win for Labour. They are not interested in saving Grangemouth but they are very interested in saving their precious Union. While I understand that it would be great to keep it open, as I opined quite some time ago in these pages, I hope we do not fall into what I see as a trap.
Enter a very large rodent in the shape of the Labour government with the new Secretary of State Not for Scotland right in the thick of it! It is already becoming crystal clear that these people are going to be worse than the despicable Tories ever were. I would not rule out any sort of hunker-sliding by them and think they could be capable of dirty tricks the Tories couldn’t even dream of.
We are going to have to watch their every move. It would appear to me that the war on the SNP and therefore the people of Scotland is under way. Our parliament is under siege by these charlatans and we will have to stand together to thwart them. Time to up the ante, is it not?
Old John
Ayrshire
STEPH Paton disagrees strongly with the findings of the Cass Review of gender identity services for children and young people, which is described as “junk science” and “widely discredited” (Labour twist the knife with puberty blocker pledge, Jul 15).
As far as I can find out from published web information, Steph Paton has no scientific or medical qualifications, unlike Doctor Hilary Cass, who is extremely well qualified in both, and particularly in child disability. Far from being “widely discredited”, the Cass Report has been widely praised throughout the medical profession for its sympathy and understanding of the concerns of both children and their parents and also for its caution against use of powerful drugs on young people.
In the matter of gender services, I know who I would trust in the treatment of young children and it isn’t Steph Paton, who appears to advocate unlimited administration of “blockers” to confused children in puberty. These are actually powerful hormones which will have a permanent and irreversible effect on young bodies.
If adults wish to live trans lives no-one should have a problem with that, but children must be protected from a potentially devastating choice at an age when they are seen by most people as very vulnerable.
James Duncan
Edinburgh
SURELY of all publications, The National should not simply refer to James II and leave it at that, as is the case with your report on the Orange Order’s July 12 challenge to the Prime Minister (‘Listen to the voice of Unionism’, PM told, Jul 13).
James II of Scotland was not around in 1690.
John Toal
Inverness
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