Trevor Rigg's claim that renewable energy is infinite and eternal is oft repeated nonsense (Letters, May 24).

The wind, for example, may be free, but the infrastructure to turn diffuse and intermittent wind energy into concentrated and reliable electrical energy is not.

Wind power has a design life in the order of 20 years, in comparison to 60 years for a modern nuclear plant. In Scotland, we may be on our third build out of renewables, while nuclear plants to the south are still producing clean, reliable energy towards the end of the century.

Due to its diffuse nature, renewable energy is also land and resource hungry. Per unit of energy produced, renewables require more steel, concrete and land than compact thermal plants. This rather undermines Mr Rigg's final claim that "renewables encourage a proper understanding of our relationship with the finite world in which we live".

Here we have the real reason for the popularity of renewables for some.

Set aside any ideas of a progressive future and accept what nature provides. Fortunately, Scottish innovators such as James Watt dismissed such Malthusian ideas and helped deliver the historically unparalleled prosperity we now enjoy.

Colin R McInnes,

23 Williamwood Park West,

Glasgow.