Britain’s Prince Philip Blasts Wind Farms
When the managing director of a wind farm company introduced himself to Britain’s Prince Philip at a London reception, he got a blast of hot air back.
“He said [wind farms] were absolutely useless, completely reliant on subsidies and an absolute disgrace,” said Esbjorn Wilmar of Infinergy.
“I suggested to him to put them on his estate, and he said, ‘You stay away from my estate, young man,’” Wilmar said.
Philip, who is the queen’s husband and Duke of Edinburgh, said he would never consider allowing his land to be used for turbines.
“You don’t believe in fairy tales, do you?’” the duke told Wilmar said, adding that that wind energy would never work since it has proved difficult and costly to store for use when the wind is not blowing.
While no one is suggesting the prince had ulterior motives for his remarks, the British royal family stands to earn millions of pounds from wind farms placed offshore as opposed to on land. The Crown Estate, a $10-billion land and property portfolio, owns almost all of the seabed off Britain’s 7,700-mile coastline and recently approved an increase in the number of sites around the coast where offshore wind farms could be placed.
The reception, in London’s Chelsea district, had nothing to do with alternate forms of energy. It was to marking the 70th anniversary of the Council of Christians and Jews at which the queen and duke were guests of honor.
More of this story is at the London Daily Telegraph.