ONE morning last week, the wind dropped, and the four wind turbines at Osprey Quay were stationary.

If the vast wind turbine farm between St Albans Head and the Isle of Wight was up and running, then this would have been stationary as well.

Millions of pounds spent and absolutely nothing being generated.

And periods of dead flat calm in the channel are not that uncommon.

Below the turbines in the sea, the tidal current would be flowing as normal.

A vast amount of power, 100 per cent reliable, just being wasted.

When the current stops flowing here, then it is running fast further up the channel and it is only stopped for a very short while before running back at full speed in the opposite direction.

The amount of power available from the tides is virtually immeasurable.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the 50 miles of water between Portland and the Channel Islands, which is around 600 feet deep in places, had enough tidal energy locked up in it to supply power for the whole world.

And yet this isn’t being used.

Instead, millions of pounds are being wasted on totally unreliable wind turbines which, ashore, present a nasty blot on the landscape.

When is some common sense going to prevail?

Mike Boyce, Old Hill, Portland