Mid-Scotland and Fife MSP Murdo Fraser has slammed the Scottish Governments energy policy in response to research conducted by the John Muir Trust. Their research has shown that 36 per cent of people would be “less likely to visit a scenic area with a large concentration of wind farms”.
Just 2 per cent said they would be “more likely” to visit if there were a proliferation of turbines in the area.
Furthermore, 37 per cent said the Scottish Government should prioritise protecting scenic wild land from large commercial wind farms, even if this means that there is less opportunity to develop wind power in those areas.
Recently the BBC reported that 47% of Scots identified our landscape as the most important element of our culture.
This news comes despite Alex Salmond’s claim that wind farms could become major tourist attractions in Scotland.
Convenor of the Scottish Parliament’s Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee, Murdo Fraser said;
“This is an important new piece of research which confirms that many Scots don’t want to see our wild landscapes blighted by wind turbines.
“It flies in the face of continual assertions by the SNP and their friends in the wind industry that there is strong public support for their policy of blanketing Scotland with unreliable, intermittent wind farms.
“It also tells us, contrary to previous claims that our vital tourist industry is at risk from the over-expansion of the onshore wind industry.
“This is yet more proof that the SNP’s energy policy, which focuses entirely on onshore wind to the detriment of other low-carbon technologies, is damaging Scotland.”