Sunday 29 April 2007
Of course I have some sympathy with those whose views will be affected by rows of windfarms. But either we accept the need for more environmentally-friendly ways of generating electricity, or we don't. For my part, I think it's clear from the evidence that there is such a need.
Having accepted that need, it's obvious that windfarms need to go where it's more windy. There's little point putting them in towns and cities, even if it were feasible, because it's not windy enough. It's an unfortunate fact of life that our moors and hills are the most windy places, so I can't really see many logical alternatives.
Andy Waters,
England
More wind farms!!!, electrical power demand is rising, and will continue to rise and more investment is needed in green energy. They dont blot the landscape, they should be viewed as the beauty electrical efficiency. otherwise other energy source is needed, would people prefer a coal power plant? very much doubt it
Matthew, England, York
I also live in Cumbria,Copeland District. I have received a voting card. As yet not one leaflet from any of the parties. I always vote, I do not know how many are standing? They complain about voter apathy, I think, there is also Party apathy. They deserve not to get elected.
Angela Wilkie,
England
I believe that having wind farms stretched across the Alnwick moors is a degradation of our beautiful and unique landscape for a technology that is being funded to meet targets rather than providing a good source of renewable energy. There would be much better ways for us to spend that tax payers money to improve our renewables.
Ann Marie Trevelyan, Berwick Upon Tweed
He's impressed by the independent candidate in his area, saying: "The independent is offering a lot more than the sad old Labour that's already in power.
Billy Tait - Houghton Le Spring
Wind farms are very necessary - there are plenty of pylons and radio and television masts, so why not a few more things on the horizon such as wind farm turbines?
Mr Pulborough
I'm appalled that anybody is considering putting anymore wind farms in Northumberland when we've got two whacking great wind turbines in the bay nearby where I live which have stood idle for ages for want of a replacement cable on the sea bed.
Caroline Sharp - Blyth
Do they want tourism, or do they want wind farms. I don't think you can have both.
Margaret Skinner
Why don't people give the Liberals a chance? Labour and Conservative over the years have taken the great out of Great Britain and made us a laughing stock.
Mrs Day - Darlington
In Denmark, 13 per cent of electricity comes from wind power. They have found it too expensive and inefficient and so they are to build no more windmills. We would need 20,000 more windmills in this country to create the 13 per cent electricity that we need, with wind farms covering at least 3,000 square miles of our countryside. It's all wrong we should go nuclear power anyway.
Marjorie Matthews - Sunderland
He lives near one of the proposed windfarm sites at North Charlton, near Alnwick.
Apart from wrecking the landscape, it is the inconceivable inefficiency of wind power which is a huge, a real objection to it. It is one of the most inefficient forms of producing energy ever devised. They don't work when there's no wind, they don't work when there's too much wind. They are not the answer, they could produce a drop in the ocean of the power required in the future.
John Jolliffe
I merely wish to complain strongly about the arrogant attitude of Mr Brown, currently being interviewed on your programme. He deserves all he's going to get in the local elections and thereafter. Why do politicians constantly interrupt and overtalk commentators who pose sensible questions?
Tom Cook - Hexham
The amount of electricity produced by these, by the time it gets to the user, is infinitesimal. I think they're a total waste of time.
David Anderson
I really would like to just say, whatever happens we've got to say are these turbines working? In the North East they are not."
She adds: The whole thing is undemocratic and needs a much wider debate.
Elizabeth Nairn - CPRE - Durham Branch.
The main reason apart from the visual impact is that they're not cost effective. nobody states the price of building one of these and the rental for per year for each windmill. Cost those out and you'll find the electricity produced is not cost effective.
Terry Hutchinson
I love windmills and if people are opposed to the blot on the landscape etc, why don't they just paint them tree coloured - brown stems, green wings, I think they'd look brilliant.
Joanne Bower
The point about them is not so much that they're an environmentally visual disaster they're just an environmental disaster perse. The carbon footprint is far greater than conventional methods of generating electricity. They're very expensive and they don't work for 75 per cent of the time; the basic capacity that they generate is only 25 per cent of what they should be generating, and of course they don't generate anything when the wind doesn't blow.
Gordon Lamb
We've got lots of wind farms here and they're ok in the right position, but what about wave energy and HEP - Hydro Electric power - can't we do more of that in the coastal areas? I think that's a much better way of developing energy.
Lydia in Cumbria
I've listened to the most utter rubbish about wind turbines. These wind turbines are a sham because they only actually produce any usable current for about 28 to 32 per cent of the time. They therefore have to have a back up in a power station to provide power to keep the lights burning in all these thousands of houses that they're supposed to be lighting.
Alan Dickinson -Carlisle
What the opponents of wind turbines have failed to grasp is that climate change will do much more damage to the Northumberland countryside than a few wind farms.
Brian Atkinson - South Shields
He says Labour have lost their grip and have given no information regarding their candidate where he lives.
How do they (Labour) expect to be voted for when they don't make themselves known.
Barry Davis. Carlisle
I have no objections to the wind farms, in fact they should never have stopped them in the Tees mouth. I think there should be more wind farms in future.
Patricia Palmer
I think they're doing a damn good job. I support them in the sense that I vote for them, but they're getting slagged off and it's all wrong in my book. After all what did the Conservatives do when they were in? They cut the jobs they closed the mines they chopped the railway up and here we are with next to nothing nowadays
Mr Gordon Vaughn - Stockton on Tees
These were some of your comments on the Politics Show on Sunday 29 April 2007 at 12:00 BST on BBC One.
You can reach the programme by using the form below to message the Politics Show.
Disclaimer: The BBC may edit your comments and cannot guarantee that all emails will be published.