Pete Russell believes we need windpower and that opposition is simply nimbyism (Letters, December 19).

He is wrong on both counts. As the contribution by wind increases to only a small proportion of total supply, it will cause serious stability problems
unless supported by online conventional generation.

E.ON Netz, the operator of the largest assemblage of wind turbines in Europe has specifically warned of this.

Following Europe's largest ever power failure which blacked out 15 million consumers in November, we now also have an interim report prepared by the
Union for the Coordination of the Transmission of Electricity (UCTE).

UCTE's report in part blames wind power for delaying the reconnection process across Europe and also reinforces E.ON Netz's warning.

I quote: "Wind generation [is] characterised by a short-term predictability: within a few hours, the production of windfarms can change from minimum to maximum and conversely. This can only be mastered with an adequate transmission infrastructure and a more and more complex management of interconnected networks."

Mr Russell may not be aware that the UK grid is interconnected to its European neighbours only by a cross-Channel link, which will be hopelessly inadequate to buffer 25 gigawatts of installed wind power, nor know that our reserve generation is insufficient to provide the backup internally.