BY all means let us celebrate the opening of the world’s first floating wind farm just off Peterhead (“Floating wind farm to open”, The Herald, October 18). But by way of a footnote let us all recognise that it is the Norwegian company Statoil in which the Norwegian Government is a major share-holder, which developed, manufactured and will operate those five giant turbines .
For those who are too young to remember the discovery of oil off Norway’s and Scotland’s shores in the 1970s it led to the development of Statoil and to the Norwegian oil fund worth trillions. Scotland and UK have nothing to show for all those decades when the oil flowed. As my grannie was wont to say “it wud gaur ye greet”. Ah well, at least the wind is Scottish.
Christine Grahame, SNP MSP,
Constituency Member for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale,
Room Q2.01, Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh.
WE are on a headlong rush to embrace electric cars as being the solution to providing an environmentally friendly form of private transport.
First, let us dispel the illusion that there is such a thing as an “environmentally friendly” form of private automotive transport currently available or likely to be within the lifetime of anyone currently on the planet. We may give ourselves a warm feeling that we are doing our bit for the planet by driving an electric car, but there are still consequences.
In realistic terms what we do need to do short-term is minimise the environmental impact of cars and achieve a significant reduction in the emission of CO2.
Electric cars would seem to be a problematic choice, especially when there are alternatives that would be much more practical and potentially less environmentally threatening.
The production of the batteries required for electric cars is not without its issues. The main source of the lithium is to be found in South America and involves the extraction of brine from already arid areas. In other countries lithium is produced by the crushing of rock. The production of lithium and the complementary metals required for the batteries is neither sustainable nor non-polluting.
The question of infrastructure for charging electric vehicles is also extremely problematic, given the almost complete lack of same throughout the UK. The time it takes for recharging means that it will be almost impossible to refuel in such a convenient way as we do at the moment.
The obvious alternative to this is hydrogen-powered vehicles. Hydrogen can be produced from water – a resource of which we have an abundant supply in our own country – and can be electrolysed using electricity from renewable sources – again, another area in which we are setting the pace. There is a small scheme currently in operation in Orkney already.
It is relatively easily stored and the infrastructure is available just now. We just need to modify existing filling stations to provide it. Similar was already done by the provision of LPG at filing stations.
I hesitate to say it, but it would also be easier for governments to apply a tax to the sale of hydrogen than it is for the recharging of electric vehicles.
It could be that the road we travel with electric cars turns out to be a cul-de-sac.
William Thomson,
25 Lithgow Place, Denny.
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