Westminster Business Secretary John Hutton ("Future of coal-fired power is assured", The Herald, March 11) said: "Neither wind nor nuclear can fulfil this role." That is, provide for fluctuating demand. In fact, with wind, the opposite is the case as it introduces unpredictable fluctuations in supply resulting in 24/7 coal-fired power station back-up. The belief that wind farms displace coal generation and reduce emissions is now admitted to be false, as evidence from Denmark and Germany has already shown.
The European Wind Integration Study (January 2007) stated: "The variable contributions from wind power must be balanced almost completely with other back-up generating capacity."
A R Nelson, 5 Scarletmuir, Lanark.
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