Until the Summer, Christine Jardine was deep at the heart of Government as a special adviser on Scottish media based in Downing Street. She’s now returned to Scotland and full time Liberal Democrat politics.
This week, in the Scotsman, she argued that over reliance on land based wind farms can hurt the communities where they are based and predominantly benefits the landowners who pocket the subsidy and don’t pass it on to local people. She argued that more attention should be given to offshore and tidal projects, like the one Scottish Secretary Mike Moore was so enthusiastic about a few months back.
Christine said:
Perhaps it is time to pause and evaluate whether we are pursuing the correct green strategy or just rushing headlong towards a wind farm-covered Scotland to justify a political stance.
No-one doubts that Scotland is ideally placed to exploit the global realisation that we have to find an alternative to fossil fuels. We have the natural resources to cater for our own demands for renewable power and the potential to export both our expertise and equipment built in Scotland.
But critics of land-based wind turbines point out that it is our powerful offshore winds, strong tides and shallow seas which offer the greatest potential.
You can read the whole article here. Do you think that there’s the correct balance in our renewable energy focus and should we be listening to local communities who are concerned about the impact of wind farms on their livelihoods?
* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings