Sir – I am sorry to read that many people find wind turbines unattractive (Letters, November 19). I don’t.
When I see a wind turbine, my first thought is that it is an extremely elegant piece of engineering.
My second thought is that it is generating energy from a renewable non-polluting source, not from fossil fuels or nuclear fission, both of which have well-known severe problems.
It is not particularly important that wind turbines operate intermittently. What is important is that the lifetime production of energy considerably exceeds the consumption of energy in constructing and setting it up. The installation of wind turbines is preceded by extensive on-site tests to ensure that this is so.
It is not true that electricity can’t be stored, though our electricity supply systems have tended to reduce storage to a minimum. Electricity can be stored in large-scale rechargeable chemical systems, as well as indirectly as compressed gases, hydrogen and pumped water systems.
Combining wind, wave, solar and tidal energy systems damps down the fluctuations from any one source. In any case, demand fluctuates too. Wind turbines are not unique in requiring back-up generating capacity.
Chris Osman, Oxford
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