mkpdavies

http://www.oxfordmail.net/news/colum...er_14_2006.php

Populist Lee

Well . . .
So long as Mr Robertshaw isn't planning to defect.

BASILDON BOY

Now will Mr Robertshaw put commercial interests before party politics?

Anthony Butcher

What are the odds that Cameron will suddenly have an unforeseen engagement elsewhere?

Britannist

Does David Cameron know that the gentleman he is to meet (who makes the electricity-generating windmills) is a UKIP member?

Should a UKIP member and post-holder be meeting David Cameorn in view of his very personal verbal attack on UKIP?

I wonder if David Cameron will be asked to comment on a report in last Saturday's Daily Telegraph with a headline announcing what I have said for years: "Wind farms are failing to generate the predicted amount of electricity."

BASILDON BOY

As I said will Mr Robertshaw use it as an oppurtunity to promote his business with national publicity or will he use it to promote UKIP?

What is UKIPs answer on renewable energy - or do we think this is crank science and support the nuclear option?

If UKIP was more 'green' then we should have had our MEPs visiting this gentleman instead!

Britannist

UKIP is pro-nuclear power stations (as is the Government and the Conservative opposition).

Ugly wind turbine eyesores are only being built to comply with the EU target of 'renewable' energy (i.e. allegedly non-polluting).

The wind turbines ruining scenic country views in our country use up more energy to be built than they produce in their entire working lifetime. Their blades kill rare birds.

BASILDON BOY

As its UKIPs policy to ban the erection of wind turbines...

http://www.ukip.org/ukip_news/gen12.php?t=1&id=1987

http://216.239.59.104/search?q=cache...k&ct=clnk&cd=2

And of course our 2005 manifesto:-

UK Independence Party Manifesto
General Election 5th May 2005

8. Other policies

ENERGY

With output from our North sea oil and gas supplies in decline, very little coal production and no further development of nuclear power, Britain is now more dependent than ever on imported coal and gas. At the same time, the commitment to reducing carbon dioxide emissions has caused hydrocarbon fuel to be viewed with disfavour and the government is now actively promoting renewable energy, notably wind power.

It is hard to see how wind power can ever be viable. Given the capital costs of supply and installation of turbines, wind power is several times more expensive than power from conventional sources, it could never supply more than a fraction of our demand for energy and it is intermittent – no wind, no power. No other renewable sources are showing any signs of making a significant contribution.

While UKIP favours further development of ‘clean coal’ techniques to make greater use of our own coal reserves, we believe the future has to be nuclear. Most of French power is nuclear and our own nuclear stations have been operating for years without incident.
Put an immediate stop to the erection of wind turbines.
Build more nuclear power plants using standard fission technology and promote research into generation using nuclear fusion.
THE ENVIRONMENT

UKIP welcomes the long term improvement in the quality of our air, inland waterways and seaboard. But, while there is a case for international co-operation over air and sea pollution, environmental legislation for the island of Great Britain should be a British concern.

However, the EU has produced large numbers of directives on industrial pollution, waste disposal and other matters. In its typical fashion, local conditions and the cost and practical difficulties of implementation have often been ignored. The continuing consequences in the case of waste disposal are stock-piling of waste awaiting treatment (fridge mountains), long distance transport of certain classes of waste, and widespread fly-tipping to avoid landfill charges – which defeats the point of the legislation.

Environmental problems are also sometimes home-made, such as the continuing destruction of ‘green belt’ to accommodate the questionable need for large numbers of new houses, particularly in the South East, and the misguided insistence on erecting wind turbines.

The UK Independence Party is strongly in favour of measures – imposed and enforced by our own government and local authorities – that minimise the production of waste and maximise the amount that is recycled. We also strongly support ‘green’ farming methods and the protection of our parklands and wildlife habitats.

Finally, the importation of genetically modified food and the planting of GM crops is another matter over which the EU has assumed control, in consultation with the large biotech corporations. Outside the EU, UKIP would be able to respect the widespread public concern over these matters and we would prohibit the planting of GM crops until exhaustive long-term tests have convinced us that they are safe.

Britannist

I agree with the UKIP policy which favours new nuclear power stations. It is laughable that some people want a major industrial nation such as the UK to survive on electricity from wind turbines which only work a third of the time (or less).

The alternative to nuclear (or to compliment nuclear supplies) is coal. There are plentiful supplies of coal ready for import to the UK from around the world. I understand the world has 200 years' supply of coal left. However, because of this EU carbon emissions 'renewables' rule - we are not importing this cheap or reasonably priced coal simply because it would make our EU masters in Brussels angry. So the Chinese seem to be buying alot of the coal instead. We are shutting down our coal-fired power stations while other nations (such as China) open up two new ones to replace each one we shut.

eublues

I agree with UKIP's overall energy policy as in the 2005 manifesto, and we should continue to point to the fallacies surrounding things like large scale wind generation, and point to the fact that this is being driven by a political-EU agenda rather than real demonstrable energy sense.

But I also think we should not rule out too absolutely things like diy windmills and other methods of microgeneration. We know these things have little or nothing to offer currently but technology moves on and equipment costs may tumble. We can be both questioning and open-minded on this.