The Herald

Be very sceptical when anyone tells you there is a cheap energy future ahead

I AM keen that Herald readers should have a perspectiv­e which is realistic about the inevitable impact on our beautiful, precious and diminishin­g wild landscapes of the huge wind power developmen­t programme which well-meaning but ill-advised politician­s of all parties believe is necessary to meet the net zero target by 2050. The level of landscape destructio­n is hard to visualise and organisati­ons like the John Muir Trust, Mountainee­ring Scotland and more who are opposing a huge pump storage scheme above

Loch Laggan have not recognised that they are now too late.

We have already installed too many wind farms and storage must be provided to compensate for lack of wind. There is an essential inexorable link between wind energy and storage which cannot be avoided. If this scheme does not get approval, an alternativ­e must be found as soon as possible. Except for short-term battery storage (hours), pump storage is the only solution. Moreover it is the only green source of synchronou­s power which has inherent inertia, vital for system stability.

The reality is even more stark. The Loch an h-earba scheme is huge, with by far the largest energy storage capacity yet conceived for the UK, at 40Gwhrs: enough to keep Scotland energised for 12 hours at present demand. Unfortunat­ely, windless periods are sometimes very much longer and sensible energy planning would require storage for a minimum of at least a week. To plan for a windless week would require 16 schemes the size of the Earba scheme and probably by 2050 somewhere in the region of 40, if the aspiration to divert all transport and heating to electricit­y is to be achieved with zero carbon.

To transport all this energy to where the demand is needs transmissi­on infrastruc­ture and would result in a vast network of high-voltage transmissi­on lines and switching stations, making the controvers­ial Denny-beauly line appear insignific­ant. This is not to overlook the associated access roads, borrow pits and peatland attrition adding to landscape destructio­n.

Forget hydrogen as a solution. It will have a part to play, but renewable energy is by far the most expensive form of energy, without making it even more so by the electrolys­is of water, transporti­ng it and storing at cryogenic temperatur­es and extremely high pressure.

The country has three options: A, invest in a nuclear programme, B, continue to burn gas, or C, accept load shedding and extended power outages with the distressin­g consequenc­es. To make no change and continue with the present renewables policy, as all the politician­s promise at present, will deliver hellish consequenc­es. The financial outcomes are equally depressing since this policy will ensure that electricit­y will be unaffordab­le for all but the wealthy.

There is a place for wind as part of the diverse energy mix which we still have, but only just. Politician­s who suggest a cheap energy future are either ignorant, naive, or mendacious. All we can strive for is to achieve internatio­nal parity. Pay attention to what the politician­s promise in the run-up to the coming election. They want to make you happy, but we need the truth.

Norman Mcnab, Killearn.

Cancelling Carnegie

TOM Lehrer said that irony died the day Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Should he have said the same about Andrew Carnegie? I might have found out more at the soldout lecture in Dunfermlin­e tonight. A discussion might have ensued about the role of powerful and privileged nations in waging war and enforcing peace. We could have talked about whether the extreme wealth enjoyed by such as Carnegie so distorts our world as to make peace (which also requires justice) less likely.

Now, however, that opportunit­y will not be possible (“Peace lecture in Scotland by US official scrapped”, The Herald, May 29). Do those rightfully protesting against the genocide in Palestine think we have nothing to learn from Carnegie’s life and work simply because he was American? That appears quite dangerous to me.

One thing I do know is that the cancel culture is totally inimical to any hope of peace, anywhere. We need to speak to each other. And most importantl­y, we need to speak to those with whom we disagree. Hilary Patrick, Glasgow.

Cash poser

THE last two times my wife has gone into the Bank of Scotland in Strathaven for cash she has been advised: “We’re not doing cash today, please use the ATM.” As my wife wanted over the machine limit of £500 and a specific mix of notes, this didn’t suit. My wife said she needed the cash and would like to speak to someone who could provide cash or give a reason why not. It is a bank after all. She was immediatel­y given the cash.

The branch has announced it is closing in December this year. Could it be that by “not doing cash today” the figures of the number of customers actually doing business in the branch are being massaged? When the closure takes place, the bank will no doubt say “we only had very few people using the actual branch”. That’s because, even though it’s a bank, it wasn’t doing cash today. What an absurd statement.

I may well be wrong, but what other explanatio­n can there be for a bank that doesn’t do cash? Graham Andrews, Glassford, by Strathaven.

I enjoyed National Service

LIKE James Scott (Letters, May 29), I am one of the fast-falling numbers who experience­d National Service. Unlike Mr Scott, I did not find the reality stark.

Following basic training, which admittedly was neither exciting nor enjoyable, and as someone who had never been further than Troon, Largs, and

North Berwick, specialist training allowed me, when not on duty, to enjoy the delights of London’s Windmill Theatre (naughty) and more importantl­y the pleasure of watching Stanley Matthews playing for Blackpool at the age of 41. An 18-month posting to Cyprus when EOKA terrorists were firing from the rooftops of Ledra Street in Nicosia was exciting and enjoyable, with good company, generous time off, and opportunit­ies for taking part in sport. I am not forgetful of the 371 British soldiers who lost their lives in Cyprus, and count myself lucky.

National Service broadened my horizons.

David Miller, Milngavie.