True cost of wind

One supply cable under the English Channel has provided two and a half times as much energy as all the thousands of wind turbines

It is a lucid illustration of the futility of investing in wind turbines to examine the data of the 24 hours up to 6 pm on 19 July 2013 from the Elexon electricity supply website. This period is in no way exceptional, on the contrary, is very representative of performance during the weeks of the hot anti-cyclone. Wind power contributed 2.3% whilst the inter-connector from France provided 5.7% of our electricity.

In simple terms, one supply cable under the English Channel has provided two and a half times as much as all the thousands of wind turbines that despoil our uplands and coasts.

Government ministers claim that they are an essential investment, but perhaps the energy minister could provide a list of similar items of generating equipment that are more costly than equivalent machinery; need constant subsidies to keep them financially solvent and only operate near their rated output for 15% of the time?

Paul Spare, Davenham