All-party aims for renewables – Herald

THE letter from Ian Lakin (August 21) is big on pejorative terms in
describing SNP energy policy as “flawed”, “nonsensical”, and “incoherent”,
and it contains the usual hyperbole such as “covering Scotland in steel
forests”.

However, in his rush to lay blame for all things at the door of the SNP
Government, the writer, like many wind farm haters, conveniently ignores
the fact that backing for renewables in Scotland goes far beyond a single
party.

For the record, it is not only the SNP (and Greens) who set ambitious
energy targets – in the manifestos for the last Holyrood election, Labour
policy was to generate the equivalent of 80 per cent of Scotland’s
electricity from renewables by 2020, Liberal Democrat policy was to
generate 100 per cent by 2025, and SNP policy was to generate 100 per cent
by 2020. Dates and percentages vary slightly, but there is a clear
political consensus for developing renewables further.

This is except for the Tories of course, whose anti-renewables stance puts
them out of step with a growing number of countries, and whose support for
the more costly and/or environmentally damaging options of nuclear and
fracking thankfully finds little favour here.

I await with interest the party manifestos for next year’s Holyrood
election. My hope is that the SNP will continue to set out a bold vision of
a Scotland powered by green energy, with fresh targets to 2030, and that
this will again be shared by others.
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DB Williamson,
3 Rosebery Place, Dunbar.