In The Press » Feb 1st 2012 - Wind Turbines
Feb 1st 2012 - Wind Turbines
Wind Turbines
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UK Independence Party
From the Office of Derek Clark, MEP, East Midlands
Rowan House, 23 Billing Road, Northampton NN1 5AT
Tel: 01604 620064 Fax: 01604 636002
Email: mep@derekclarkmep.org.uk
Feb, 1st 2012
To the Editor,
Dear Sir,
I am moved to write following your comment piece about wind turbines last week.
Let me be clear. If there is global warming causing climate change, and if this is due to increased output of carbon dioxide, then something would have to be done. If wind turbines were the answer I would support building them in massive numbers, but they are not, they are useless.
The usual lie told in their favour is that they will supply so many houses. No they will not.
In a moderate breeze, about 15mph, they produce a quarter of their maximum output. As the wind rises they reach maximum output at near gale strength, about 50mph, and at storm, approximately 55mph, the turbines have to be switched off to avoid damage. Altogether this whole range of wind speeds needed to operate the turbines occurs just 30 per cent of the time. That's unpredictably varying power for 120 days of the year and nothing for 245 days - and you pay £300,000 for each windmill!
Many people object to wind turbines because they ruin their locality - a blight on the landscape, the regular thumping noise, or sunlight flickering. They are right, but this devastation of the countryside is all for nothing.
Our Government is going along with the EU, the biggest promoters of the 'global warming' scam. The only people to benefit are landowners, who reap enormous sums of money from windmills on their land, the turbine makers and the electricity companies. Now who do you think has the greater leverage - that lot or you, the people?
Yours sincerely,
Derek Clark,
UKIP MEP for Northamptonshire.