Letters / Full facts were not known
In response to some of the bleats (Craig Johnson and Lee Goodlad) about SuS and whether it has or has not a majority Shetland support for or against Viking Energy, I feel it may be necessary to point out the obvious to those who go on about misrepresentation of ‘Shetlanders Views’.
Firstly no official attempt has ever been made to establish the true feelings of Shetlanders towards the VE project.
Attempts at the same, asked for by SuS, were resisted by VE and SIC. So no in-depth survey was ever completed. The Shetland Times undertook phone polls with rather inconclusive results. However, at the time of those polls several factors were not known to the public. I list the most relevant below:
- Scottish and Southern Energy (Partner to VE) was regarded as honest by most at that time, but now found wanting at every management level as a profiteering and inequitable company. Fined by Ofgem (£10 million) for extensive mis-selling;
- Onshore wind farms on deep peat found unlikely to reduce atmospheric CO2. Most recent research by Scottish Government 2013;
- Profit figures of £25 million towards the Shetland community are a total fiction. A blatant speculative lie, propagated by the management of VE. The only way this figure could be achieved would be an annual £25 million reduction in transmission charges! And ROC subsidies to remain at present levels (highly unlikely);
- Cost of interconnector underestimates by a factor of three, now estimated at a cost of £1billion,and not to be constructed for a further three years, if ever.
If this information had been public knowledge and if Shetlanders had been asked to support VE, I would imagine the general response would have been very negative.
Ian Tinkler
Clousta
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