Readers' Letters: Wind farm could mean loss of Scottish bird species

I do not think it is possible to predict the behaviour of birds with such accuracy.

When we moved to our cottage in 1992 we would have skeins of pink-footed geese over our cottage in spring and autumn. Gladhouse Reservoir was made a Ramsar site because of the numbers there. My parents marvelled at the sight when they visited In 1999. In 2002 Bowbeat wind farm was built in the Moorfoot Hills on the flight path and we have not seen skeins from that direction for many years, and the Gladhouse numbers are now low – so much so that the RSPB could not put in an objection to the 18-turbine, 180m high Torfichen windfarm, near Gladhouse, on pink foot grounds but had to rely on other species.

How can we justify such a large experiment when Scotland is world famous for these species and we already have enough wind power for our own needs?

Celia Hobbs, Penicuik, Midlothian

Shot in foot?

The decision in principle by the Scottish Government to grant planning permission for a completely unnecessary massive offshore wind farm (Berwick Bank) to be constructed in an environmentally sensitive location frankly beggars belief, especially given the scale of the well-judged opposition, which has simply been ignored.

The irony is that Holyrood is currently contemplating the introduction of an Ecocide Bill, at the very time that the Scottish Government is complicit in ecocide committed by renewable energy companies on an ever-expanding scale.

We note that “SSE Renewables will have to provide a plan to counter any impact the wind farm may have on seabirds to be approved by ministers", but this is thin gruel, especially as SSE is quoted as admitting in its own environmental impact assessment that more than 31,000 bird collisions are estimated during its lifespan. What will their proposed “mitigation” provide? It is to be hoped that it will be something better than the farcically inappropriate plans Equinor has put in place to construct an inappropriately sited nesting habitat for Arctic terns, hundreds of miles from its proposed massive wind farm extension off the coast of Norfolk. Whatever it is, it is difficult to see how it can provide more than a small sticking plaster for a deliberate act of ecocide that should never have been granted permission

The Scottish Government may well have shot themselves in the foot. Even people who would not normally object to a wind farm are sickened by this decision. The sleeping giant in the name of Joe Public has awakened.

Aileen Jackson, Scotland Against Spin, Uplawmoor, East Renfrewshire

Strange silence

There is a deafening silence from Holyrood over the unit cost of electricity from Berwick Bank.

There are non-stop claims that the output is the cheapest electricity generation system in the UK, but what the SNP Energy Secretary refuses to admit is that the party have taken out three “insurance policies” to keep the lights on in Scotland as wind output is both unreliable and inefficient.

The first “policy” is the myriad battery units required to ensure grid stability during short lulls in wind speed (over a period of minutes). The second is the output from pump store plant to cover a lack of wind over a time period of about six hours. The last is the proposed 25GW of hydrogen-fuelled gas turbines to cover for dunkelflaute weather conditions.

Why, then, do our 129 MSPs refuse to inform the people of Scotland of the unit cost of wind output that includes the capital repayment and operational running costs of the three projects?

Ian Moir, Castle Douglas, Dumfries & Galloway

Botched

Whatever one thinks of the Berwick Bank wind farm project, we can only hope the rights auction is open so as to maximise revenue. A few years ago the SNP horribly botched the ScotWind auction, losing the public coffers a whopping £15 billion, the equivalent of more than £3,000 per adult in Scotland!

George Morton, Rosyth, Fife

Not so bonny

Our beautiful country used to be called “Bonny Scotland”. Nowadays, it would be more apt to call it “Pylon-ny Scotland”. Please, please rid us of these horrible eyesores.

John MacKay, Cumbernauld, Dunbartonshire

Legal focus

Veteran nurse Sandie Peggie, who was suspended by NHS Fife for objecting to the presence of a male-born, female-identifying doctor in a female changing room while she was undressing, has enjoyed a groundswell of public support. However, NHS Fife’s lawyer, Jane Russell KC, produced two witnesses, both former colleagues and friends.

Their evidence mainly focused on Ms Peggie’s presumed character based on some politically incorrect banter at some point in the past. Ms Peggie actually didn’t deny this and admits it was in bad taste.

Arguably Ms Russell’s detailed questions about Sandie Peggie’s menstrual flow and who is paying for her case weren’t exactly tasteful either.

Yet nothing of this should deflect from the matter at hand.

What the judges will have to decide is not whether Ms Peggie “deserved“ to be suspended due to her supposedly flawed character. They will decide whether NHS Fife acted fairly and lawfully when suspending a nurse for insisting on her sex-based rights, no more, no less. Their conclusion will ultimately guide public perception of the case.

Regina Erich, Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire

Terrible talk

I’d just like to say well done Anas Sarwar for saying what every decent person in Scotland is thinking. The alleged racist language of Sandy Peggie is horrific and highly offensive. Politicians Joanna Cherry and Murdo Fraser, who have both spoken in support of Ms Peggie since these allegations were made public, should hang their heads in shame for failing to speak out against these racist statements and offensive jokes.

Alexander Lunn, Edinburgh

Oust the SNP

So, it seems that as a result of Donald Trump's visit to Scotland, First Minister John Swinney has decided he has an “updated strategy” for achieving Scottish independence.

More fool him! He has conveniently forgotten that the UK Supreme Court's ruling was quite clear in that “there can only be another referendum on such a matter if the UK Government agrees!

As is obvious to most folks, except for diehard SNP followers, Mr Swinney is deluded in his quest for an independent Scotland. If the efforts of Alex Salmond, and his prodigy Nicola Sturgeon, failed to convince the people of Scotland that independence would be to their advantage, then John Swinney is on a hiding to nothing campaign in respect of Scottish independence.

The Holyrood elections in May 2026 will hopefully see off the SNP for a very long period. Let us hope that whatever alliance of political parties is needed to achieve this objective, we will see radical changes put into effect at Holyrood, and at local council levels. Fellow Scots, let us all be fully supportive of whatever alliance of political parties is needed to oust the SNP.

Unless radical changes are put into effect at Holyrood, then the only answer to Scotland's political dilemma is to return all political powers to Westminster.

Hopefully that will not be our only option!

Robert IG Scott, Northfield, Ceres, Fife

Good call

I congratulate Foysol Choudhury for his article in The Scotsman, “Staying silent over Gaza risks complicity in war crimes, even in Scotland” (Perspective, 1 August). He confirms “the right of every person to live free from fear, violence and oppression and there must be immediate international action to stop the violence, protect civilians, and hold those responsible to account”.

It’s rare for a Labour MSP to call out and criticise Hamas.

Lewis Finnie, Edinburgh

An apology

As a beleaguered American citizen, I first want to apologise to the Scots for inflicting Donald Trump upon you, and the world.

Secondly, my profound thanks and blessings on your heads for your protests, marches, signs, etc displayed during his visit.

You cannot imagine how reassuring it was to know that we are not alone, that good people in Scotland also agree and support us, even when we sometimes feel our voices are lost in the wind.

C Root, Flagstaff, Arizona

Historic pun

According to the US President, Nicola Sturgeon was a terrible First Minister (your report, 31 July). Can this be the latest “Blast of the Trump against the Monstruous Regiment of Women”?

Peter Freshwater, Edinburgh

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