Ruim honderd MP's protesteren tegen megalomane windenergieplannen Britse regering

Eerder schreef ik over de Britse minister voor energie en klimaatverandering, Chris Huhne, die ondanks de moeilijkheden waarin de Britse economie verkeert en ondanks massale maatschappelijke weerstand, zijn geldverslindende megalomane plannen voor de invoering van duurzame energie, vooral windmolens, coûte que coûte wilde doordrijven.

Citaat:

Ik zie niet goed hoe Huhne dit politiek zou kunnen overleven. Er zal toch een moment moeten komen dat Cameron zich van deze nagel aan zijn doodskist zal willen ontdoen. De sporen van Huhnes beleid zullen echter nog lang zichtbaar blijven, net als die van de Atlantikwall, die al even effectief was als de huidige windmolenparken.

Zijn val kwam eerder dan ik had verwacht. Maar deze had niets met zijn beleid te maken. Hij werd ervan beschuldigd druk op een medewerkster te hebben uitgeoefend om strafpunten wegens het overschrijden van de snelheidslimiet ('speeding points') van hem over te nemen, zodat zijn rijbewijs niet zou worden ingetrokken. Huhne ontkende dit, maar het bewijs was overweldigend. Hij trad enkele dagen geleden af.

Lees verder hier

Nu deze fanatieke duurzaamheidsapostel het veld heeft moeten ruimen, heeft de opstand van ruim honderd Tories om het energiebeleid te herzien meer kans van slagen. Onder de titel, '101 Tories revolt over wind farms', rapporteerde Patrick Hennessy in de Britse 'Telegraph, daarover het volgende:

David Cameron has been hit by a major protest by Conservative MPs over the Government’s backing for wind farms, The Sunday Telegraph can disclose. A total of 101 Tory MPs have written to the Prime Minister demanding that the £400 million-a-year subsidies paid to the “inefficient” onshore wind turbine industry are “dramatically cut”. The backbenchers, joined by some MPs from other parties, have also called on Mr Cameron to tighten up planning laws so local people have a better chance of stopping new farms being developed and protecting the countryside.

The demands will be a headache for Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat Energy Secretary, who joined the Cabinet on Friday when Chris Huhne resigned after being charged with perverting the course of justice.

Critics say wind farms are inefficient because the wind cannot be guaranteed to blow at times of greatest energy demand. They are also said to be unsightly, blighting the landscape.

Wind farms are also accused of forcing up energy bills while swallowing disproportionate amounts of taxpayer-funded subsidies. The Tory MPs, including several of the party’s rising stars as well as former ministers, say it is wrong that hard-pressed consumers must pay for the expansion of onshore wind power.

In the letter sent to No 10 Downing Street last week, which has been seen by The Sunday Telegraph, the MPs say they have become “more and more concerned” about government “support for onshore wind energy production”. “In these financially straitened times, we think it is unwise to make consumers pay, through taxpayer subsidy, for inefficient and intermittent energy production that typifies onshore wind turbines,” [alleen 'onshore'?] they say. The MPs want the savings spread between other “reliable” forms of renewable energy production. [zoals?] ...

The letter’s backers claim that while other Conservatives who are ministers and parliamentary private secretaries are unable to sign because they are part of the government “payroll”, they too privately support the move against wind farms. It is understood that there is also support from the Treasury [vaak verstandige lieden].

Among the signatories are former Conservative ministers including David Davis and Christopher Chope, as well as party grandees such as Bernard Jenkin and Nicholas Soames. They are joined by several rising stars including Matthew Hancock, Nadhim Zahawi and Steven Barclay. ...

Latest figures from Ofgem, the energy regulator, showed that £1.1 billion in taxpayer subsidies was paid to the producers of renewable energy in 2009-10. Of this, about £522 million was for wind power, with most going to onshore wind farms. Much of this cash ended up in the hands of energy companies and investment funds which are based abroad.

The highest-profile critic of the onshore wind industry is the Duke of Edinburgh. Last year it emerged that the Duke claimed farms were a “disgrace” and they would “never work”.

Lees verder hier.

Met het vertrek van Huhne heeft David Cameron thans meer speelruimte om de waanzinnige plannen om het land vol te plempen met windmolens – die critici als effectieve kapitaalvernietingsmachines plegen aan te duiden - te herzien.

Laten we hopen dat het gezond verstand zal zegevieren.