THE responses to my letter on windpower (March 10) were exactly the knee-jerk reactions I expected. I recently submitted an 8,000 word document reviewing the subject to the leader of the EU energy group. I can offer the summary of my conclusions as set out in that document which is the result of many years? study of the subject. 1, The world cannot rely on fossil fuels to supply the present power needs of the developed countries and the projected needs of the developing world. Oil and coal are already too valuable to be used simply to produce steam to drive turbines, and will become more so. They need to be directed more towards end uses which result in a higher value product than steam. 2. The options being canvassed based on ?natural? resources ? sun, wind, water ? all suffer from major and arguably insurmountable difficulties, mostly because they are unpredictable in their reliability, physically unavailable where they are needed, or so dilute in presence that overly high installations are required to harness them. All need either or both expensive storage and conversion installations, or backup from another technology. They do not offer the essential stability and security for an on-line system. They carry significant environmental and economic disadvantages. 3. CO2 production is now increasingly seen as irrelevant to global warming, but it has its adherents coming from a socio-political standpoint. However, the inevitable move towards large-scale power production from nuclear sources will do far more in reality to reduce CO2 than taxing oil and penalising the internal combustion engine in all its manifestations. Those concerned with global warming ? and the evidence is in favour of the world being in one of its periodic warm cycles ? would be better advised to plan for the social and physical consequences following from such warming rather than seeking to reverse it by means which are certain to fail. Obviously, the full argument leading to this summary is far too long to repeat here, but I stand by every word of the above summary. Geoffrey M Stowell The Down Bere Alston