IT is time to educate Emma Joyce regarding energy resources (Letters, January 13). The public are being misled by wild statements that coal resources will run out in her lifetime.

There are vast coal reserves not only in the UK but in Russia, Poland, Australia and South Africa. The reason coal-fired power stations have been replaced is because more efficient natural gas-fired stations have been built. The reasons are economic, not availability of coal.

However, new clean coal-fired technology is being developed with almost zero carbon dioxide emissions which could make a contribution to some of our future energy requirements.

Andy Scaife talks of replacing our existing coal-fired stations with massive wind farm developments. (Letters, January 18).

Does he realise that to replace one average coal-fired power station of 1590Mw would require 2,650 wind turbines at 364ft high.

To replace all the coal-fired stations would require approximately 50,000 turbines. Perhaps he would like to see one in every back garden in York as he finds them so beautiful!

The price to pay for such ridiculous proposals would be to put up your electricity bills by more than double, put up with frequent black-outs as wind turbines only run for 30 per cent of the time due to variable wind speeds, and forget watching television as the interference will be considerable from massive wind farms.

We are all concerned about the possibility of climate change, but there are several more practical and efficient ways of tackling the problem without creating another environmental disaster.

Peter Howdle,

York Road, Riccall.

Updated: 10:58 Thursday, January 27, 2005