Once again the green people, in this case the chairman of the South Dorset Green Party, peddles dubious statistics to support their view that ‘renewable energy’ is the way to nirvana. They speak of having a ‘moral duty’ but ignore the practical effect of their dreams on the lives of ordinary people.

There is not, it seems to me, any doubt that the climate is warming. What is in doubt is the extent to which man’s activities contribute to that trend. Even more doubtful is the the contribution Britain can make to reduce it. The hysterical claim that scientists forecast that the world will become uninhabitable in 50 years time is ludicrous.

The recent letter about the Navitus Bay proposal attacked it on the grounds of its huge size and the impact it will have on the visual beauty of the south coast all of which I heartily agreed with, windmills over 600 feet high will be impossible to ignore day or night and will make a mockery of the Jurassic coast.

The letter did not mention the slaughter of thousands of migratory birds and seabirds by the huge blades which is another significant argument against it.

The claim that the proposed wind farm would provide electricity for the equivalent 790,000 homes ignores the fact that at least that amount of fossil or nuclear fuelled generation capacity will have to be installed to keep the lights on when the wind does not blow or blows too much. The cost will be colossal and will blight our beautiful coast line for generations to come. One cannot ignore the fact that these monstrosities are so inefficient and so costly that they would never be built were it not for political expediency and the vast subsidies we pay through our energy bills. It seems to me that it would be far wiser to invest the money in nuclear generation in the long term and gas-powered plants in the short term, avoid the expense of wind power and invest in tidal and wave power for small scale localised generation. We have indulged the green dream far too long. It is time to be practical. Get fracking.

John Neimer

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