A CHARTER FOR WIND

Confused. When it comes down to it, that's about the kindest thing you can say about the deranged noodlings of our homegrown anti-wind nimbies. They are extremely confused.

Take their claim that the wind power industry is "solely motivated by profit". Well, oddly, that's how capitalism works. And unless we're going to re-nationalise our entire energy industry (any nimbies calling for that?) then we just have to accept that private companies operating in a liberalised market do have to consider the bottom line and keep shareholders happy.

Maybe the nutty nimbies imagine that nuclear power stations are staffed entirely by volunteers from various registered charities. Can anyone name any gas-fired power stations that are owned and run by co-operatives? There are plenty of windfarms and turbines that are (those filthy, community-minded, eco-friendly profit-hunters!!)

In fact, such is the nuclear industry's greed for profit that it is moving out of nuclear power! Moody's credit rating agency has already signalled that the two companies which abandoned plans to build two new nuclear power stations in Britain had done something "Credit Positive". The others, those still thinking about building new nuclear power stations in the UK, have been warned that such a commitment would have a negative impact on their credit ratings. Basically, they'd be taking on massive debts, and unless the tax-payer is prepared to underwrite those gargantuan debts, then they will lead to a credit rating downgrade. Shareholders won't like that. And so, those companies which are concerned about their profits are backing away from nuclear energy very quickly. They just don't care about providing energy for the people. They're solely motivated by profits

France has announced that it simply cannot afford to build any more reactors. They're just way too expensive. Governments can't underwrite the enormous costs of constructing, running and dismantling these power stations and disposing of the waste (indeed, the French government can't even decide how much dismantling power stations and safely storing the waste will cost, because nobody actually knows!) So France has put out tenders for some massive offshore wind arrays. Why would the French do that? Because windfarm developers are solely motivated by profit (unlike the nuclear industry, of course), or because somebody needs to provide energy to French consumers and the wind industry is the best-placed to do that quickly and at a fraction of the cost of nuclear?

Realistically, the insane nimby suggestion - repeated ad nauseam, like all their other nonsensical claims - that the wind industry is only driven by the desire for profit is remarkably bonkers. It takes no account of the simple fact that that's how companies work, you dimwits! It also demonstrates a blank refusal to engage with reality. Nuclear (massively subsidised) is just too expensive. And dangerous. And not as reliable as people like to think it is. And it'll be years yet before any new nuclear power station gets up and running - assuming that their developers decide to accept the credit downgrade that comes from gambling colossal amounts on money on something that is increasingly detested by people all around the world and can only survive if guaranteed vast amounts of government subsidy.

Gas is getting more expensive. Some nimbies point to shale gas and fracking as the Great White Hope for the future. Sure, why not - if you're really into earthquakes and tapwater that catches fire. Realistically, if we haven't learnt our lesson yet about extracting and burning fossil fuels, then there's no hope at all for us, end of.

Anyone care to suggest that shale gas extraction or fracking doesn't "change the landscape forever" or "impact adversely on our unique, unspoilt, historic landscape"? Or that the firms engaged in these harmful activities aren't "solely motivated by profit"?

No, as usual the lunatics of the anti-wind fringe reserve all their ludicrous statements, woefully demented myths and irrational bile for the cheap, clean, green option - the one that harnesses a resource that is abundant, free and inexhaustible. Wind. Because windfarm operators are the only people in the entire world who are solely motivated by profit. Oh, and for some strange, inexplicable reason, helping us to keep the lights on.

Well, here's what the major wind energy companies in the UK have all undertaken to do for us. They have signed up to a "Wind Charter", which promises to:-

+ ensure that constant investment in wind energy (currently £5bn comes into the UK economy from the wind industry each year) leads to sufficient capacity to power more than 17 million homes by 2020

+ to grow the number of jobs and specialist training courses in order to establish an industry employing up to 90,000 people by 2020 (up from 12,000 at present)

+ to provide clean, safe and affordable green energy for today's and for future generations and to continue to drive down costs (which have already more than halved over the past twenty years)

The government has welcomed this Wind Charter. It's what the country needs, and - whoops, where are the mentions of subsidies? All wind power companies are subsidy-grasping profit hounds!! Except that there aren't any subsidies involved. Just two pence a day on the average energy bill. Not bad, given that the reduction in carbon emissions already achieved by wind power (7 million tonnes per year) is the equivalent of taking 1,750,000 cars off the road.

Here's the Wind Charter: http://www.renewableuk.com/charter/

Of course, you're perfectly free to pooh-pooh all this effort by the wind industry to provide you with safe and affordable green energy, cheaper than the alternatives, and a cleaner environment as well. You can make out that the wind industry is unique in its greedy soaking up of non-existent "subsidies" and its eagerness for profit, which clearly has no place in a free market economy.

Or you could wake up, pull your head out of your backside and start being reasonable, sensible and honest.