FURTHER to your reports about the Riccall/Skipwith Wind Turbine application, it is evident that at least one of the councillors is not well-briefed on the subject.

Also, the letters from a Greenpeace spokesman and other supporters demonstrate a simplistic approach.

European countries, Germany in particular, are now coming round to the view that wind farms are unreliable, inefficient and costly since they constantly threaten power cuts. Its widespread adoption is likely to mean more miles of new pylons to cope with fluctuations in electricity supply.

The Green lobby in Germany has resulted in 11,000 wind turbines serving its 80 million population.

Unfortunately, it is necessary to keep fuel-burning power stations in reserve to cover 80 per cent of wind turbine capacity because wind is so unreliable.

Here, the Renewable energy Foundation research shows that wind turbines only achieve about half the 30 per cent theoretical annual capacity anticipated by our Government. Thus, REF wisely exists to promote alternatives to wind energy.

Britain lags far behind Germany and Japan in, for example, provision of solar panels and photo voltaic systems.

Clearly, energy saving is a vital factor and we should be putting into effect the action plan from a five-year-old EU report that would offset pending closure of our nuclear power plants.

We must, above all, resist the drive to despoil our countryside with wind monstrosities that cannot provide a serious alternative power source for an industrialised nation, nor constitute a significant option for reducing emissions globally.

R Healey,

Howard Drive,

York.

Updated: 09:30 Monday, March 07, 2005