“@Dr Phillip Bratby
'They appear to want to return this country to the kind which existed before the industrial revolution.'
Which is exactly what carbon footprint/tax is designed to do, except that we have a small problem of 65 million people”

“The ineffectiveness of wind power is old news to anybody who has spent time and effort to investigate the issue. Wind power is intermittent, variable and requires back-up most of the time. It is also extremely expensive, destroys our countryside and ruins residents' lives through excessive noise.

Unfortunately, our Government is only interested in cashing in on the gravy train and despite experts pointing out the inadequacies, they plough ahead anyway. Let us hope the next election will push the deluded out of power or the lights will go out and we will be paying dearly for it.

Also, let us not forget that during that cold snap gas distribution was compromised and coal fired power was increased.

What will happen to us when the coal fired power stations have closed?”

“The basic problem is power CONSUMPTION. This is set to continue growing exponentially as we use ever more electrical appliances and build more houses - 70,000 planned for Cornwall alone. Once upon a time people made do with one warm living room. Now we expect the whole house to be warm. Workmen now use electrical equipment (that is charged from the mains) instead of muscles etc etc. The population itself is set to rise by about 10%. All of this has energy implications. The Government is between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand expected to meet demand whist at the same time committed to reducing CO2. With the best will in the world, the circle cannot be squared. There is no method of producing electricity without adverse side effects. Coal produces carbon and sulphur (acid rain) to atmosphere and wrecks the landscape; oil can do the same; gas is running out; nuclear is hugely expensive to build and de commission and process dangerous waste that no one knows what to do with; wave is unproven; barrages cause huge damage to wildlife; hydro-electric involves flooding huge areas; wind and solar only work when the wind is blowing or the sun is out and so it goes on. The answer? I don't have one but it might help if everyone saw power as a vital resource that should be used as sparingly as possible.”

“So why did water mills fall out of use? - it was the economics of new technology and not that the new tech was better - now we are coming to a point where the economics of the oil based tech is turning against us and we have to seek alternative diverse power sources and having all your power from one source is a bad thing - cause when that source fails you you can kiss your civilization good-bye”

“You can have as many 'wet-behind-the-ears' pseudo-experts as Miliband and the associated government departments as you like but you cannot get away from the VOICE OF EXPERIENCE which, for some 15 to 20 years, has been advocating a refurbishment of CONVENTIONAL power generation plant to preserve UK emergency services, lifestyles and world competitveness and all at Peak Demand. Successive governments have preferred to take the path of soft options, least resistance and hot air - windmills. So we must ask ourselves why windmills and sails were dispensed with when something secure, controllable and demandable was developed by engineers and scientists. The answer is simple - wind was proven a 'busted flush'.
It did not need Ofgem to pronounce self-importantly its Project Discovery findings. The true engineering/scientific world has been fully aware of the problem but is subjected to the usual political self-important attitudes of sweeping real knowledge under the carpet or rather letting it blow away in the wind.”

“Yet again, government belief flies in the face of reality.

What use is a good wind profile when the wind doesn't blow? Windmills stopped being used hundreds of years ago when better technology came along. It is unbelievable that we have an anti-science government that ignores the lessons of the past. They appear to want to return this country to the kind which existed before the industrial revolution.”

“"The technical and economic difficulties of running large-scale wind power with that indispensable conventional fleet are real, and greatly underestimated by government.

At last, someone in a position of authority confirms what sensible, rational people have been syaing for years.

What is the Government response? The usual head-in-the-sand, 'We know best' rubbish.

If the likely economic and social implications weren't so frightening, jt would be a total laughing matter.”

“Another multi-Billion pound waste of tax money, as most people blessed with a grain of common thought all along!”

“None of this surprises us, it's common sense. The other non surprise is that the 'government', or the Department of Energy and Climate Change ignore the fact. I guess there has been so much hype and so many people with vested interest that no one has the guts to back down and admit the truth. Never mind, it's only OUR money they are wasting.
Roll on the election, time for a complete change. Problem is, who will make that change? Perhaps UKIP is our only hope.”

“What other energy source is so unreliable and unpredictable and it is totally uneconmic as well !!
Wind-power is for the 'fools' with other people's money to spend, sorry WASTE.”