Madam, - Dr Michael Walsh CEO of the Irish Wind Energy Association (IWEA) (July 26th) rejects my assertion that wind power on the grid is worthless and claims that "most wind energy is generated at times of higher demand".
To see how ridiculous this claim is go to www.eirgrid.ie and compare daily "wind generation" and "system demand". It's clear that peak wind power seldom if ever coincides with peak demand.
Electricity, unlike tap water, cannot be stored and must be generated instantaneously to meet demand. Since wind never blows on demand, it is as useless on the grid as a spare groom at a wedding. The scandal is that, due to Government regulations, we pay the wind moguls of the IWEA premium rates for every useless watt produced by their wind turbines.
Wind power can indeed be useful for certain projects which can avail of it whenever it blows, such as pumping water to high storage for later hydro-power generation but this doesn't even get a mention in the Government's energy plans.
Beware of the power of the IWEA as a super lobby group. - Yours, etc,
DICK KEANE Silchester Park, Glenageary, Co Dublin.