I have lived and worked in Easter Ross all my life and my family are growing up in the area. I expect there are many like me who want to see the right thing done for future generations.

I hope I interpret what Peter is saying correctly. He agrees that the wind farm is necessary but argues that Nigg Hill is not the best site. I notice he doesn't suggest an alternative site. Well, it seems to me that the best place for a windmill is going to be where it is windy so wherever it goes, it will be visible. I don't know a lot about these things but I would have thought that on top of a hill is exactly where it would need to be! Peter then asks if local people will stand for the "intrusion"? We are all going to be able to see these turbines, and some think they are beautiful, but in the long run I expect we will get used to them.

Peter reassuringly tells us that "our electricity bills will remain exactly as they were". Oh, how I wish I could believe that! If trouble continues in the Middle East, we could see prices go even further through the roof. He tells us there will be few, if any, long-term local employment opportunities resulting from the project. Peter forgets that we are all part of the larger community and what goes around. Energy is needed by the whole country and if England catches a cold, Easter Ross is surely going to die of pneumonia! Every one of us must contribute and do our best.

Tourism is one business in the Highlands that thrives and expands without the need for huge government subsidies and we are lucky to have such wonderful natural scenery. That is something we all need to be aware of and guard jealously. It is something we take for granted at our peril. So, I agree, don't let's put this wind farm where it will damage that.

On the other hand, as one of the older inhabitants, I remember when there was no yard at Nigg, no Invergordon smelter, and when the road from Inverness was single track; if you met another car you'd wave! Digging in the garden the other day, I came across a small piece of flint. A clever friend told me it would have been a tool used by ancient man to open mussel shells. Another friend showed me an old book written in the 19th century which predicted that the proposed new railways would frighten all the birds away. There have been fears about every change in our history but change there must be or we would still be sitting down at night to eat a pile of raw mussels opened with a flint knife!

I've seen the windmills in Caithness, a lot closer to the road than a mile, and the sound doesn't seem too bad to me. I don't know how far the ones at Novar would be, but I wonder how many reading this even notice them. Some think the turbines ugly, but I think they are rather beautiful in their own way. Peter grumbles about the lack of local benefit, but did we think about that during the war when the yards were built at Invergordon? Of course not, we knew the contribution was necessary for the greater good. Have no doubt about it, we are at war now against global warming and if we don't win it, it will go badly for future generations. What will they say about us then?

The experts have proposed Nigg Hill as a suitable site for the wind farm. It will take us time to get used to it, but get used to it we will — just as we have accepted the other changes that have taken place in the area. I'd say better on Nigg Hill than in the middle of the scenery that attracts so many to the Highlands every year and if we can contribute to the country's energy crisis and reduce global warming at the same time, we have a duty to do it.

J J Vass, Naro-Moro, Shandwick Bay, Balintore.

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