The turbines being built now are taller than the Forth Railway Bridge, often come in groups of 25 plus and, being sited on hills, can be seen from 25 miles away.

Currently Scotland has 11 wind farms, with almost 400 in the planning stage. Rural Scotland will have few places that you can go without being able to ‘appreciate’ them.

The UK has signed up to the Kyoto agreement where 10% of energy will be produced from renewable sources by 2010, (18% in Scotland) and have gone one step further than required by volunteering 20% by 2020. There is no doubt that the hole in the ozone layer is a problem and it is commendable that the government is taking it so seriously. Unfortunately, however, our example is not being followed by China, India and Russia who rely largely on inefficient coal fired power stations, spewing out huge amounts of CO2. Even the USA has not signed up to the agreement.

If you are a landowner with 1000 acres of land in a wild, remote spot, the chances are you will have been approached by a wind farm developer. If your plot seems to be appropriate, you will be lined up to receive £7000 for each of the 25 turbines over 25 years, an astonishing £4.375 million in total. Compare this to the few thousand pounds that your sheep flock would earn you.

One well-known estate owner in Inverness-shire explained that it was the only realistic way that his family could continue to own their estate for the next few generations. The same can be said for the crofting communities on Harris or Skye.

All this sounds terrific, but why then is there such huge local opposition in areas where wind farms are proposed, why is the Press asking such probing questions of the Scottish Executive, and why are wind farms being dismantled in Denmark and California where they were a big thing a decade ago?

Professor David Bellamy condemns the

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