Energy

If there is one thing that unites Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump it’s their shared distrust of wind turbines – which they both claim kill birds. The presidents of Russia and the USA have recently, and separately, railed against the alleged avian massacres caused by the growth in wind energy schemes across the globe. Mr Putin goes further, accusing the machines of disturbing the lives of worms and moles, while Mr Trump is also concerned about the spoiled views from his Aberdeenshire golf course.  This unlikely alliance has failed, so far, to halt the erection of thousands of the other-worldly machines which these days dot the skyline and seascapes in the world’s windiest places. Mankind has used wind power for centuries, as a means of sea travel and for grinding grain, for instance, but it was only in the 1990s, when serious threats to the climate began to emerge, that significant moves were made towards exploiting this natural resource. It is estimated that more than 20 percent of the world’s energy will come from wind power by 2030. The EU, and the UK, are among the world leaders in the energy-from-wind drive, with the latest figures showing Scotland and England each producing nearly 10,000 megawatts of electricity annually. The growth of wind farms in the UK is, nevertheless, controversial – being regularly opposed in the planning arena as unsightly and intrusive, and causing environmental groups like the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) an ethical dilemma. On the one hand, the RSPB applauds efforts to produce sustainable energy, but is concerned that many turbines are sited in upland areas and along coastlines which are home to many threatened species of birds.  The body is currently conducting its own research into the extent of the problem of bird deaths related to wind turbines on land and at sea.