WHY can’t our politicians understand that wind turbines and solar panels simply cannot bridge the energy gap that will be created if the EU’s Large Combustion Plant Directive forces the closure of 40 per cent of our power generation capacity in a few years’ time?

Our economy is in crisis and is only kept afloat by a mountain of support from the taxpayers; the Government’s £200bn stimulus is petering out and huge cuts in Government spending will be unavoidable for years to come.

However, our politicians, both Labour and Conservative, still plan colossal subsidies for almost useless wind farms, and marginally useful solar panels and roof-mounted micro wind turbines, etc. Why don’t they accept reality and tell the blinkered EU bureaucrats that we have no alternative but to continue to operate our ageing coal and nuclear power stations until such time as we have sufficient large-scale power station capacity to maintain supplies?

The required energy mix will mainly comprise gas, nuclear and coal stations without any commitment to the fantasy of carbon dioxide capture and storage. Maybe the problem is that there aren’t any technocrats at the top of the political parties.

Jim Allan, Hartlepool.