Magnus Gardham
Political Editor
THE local tourist board calls it Big Tree Country.
But take a leisurely cycle around the hills and glens of Perthshire and you
might be tempted to rename it Big Pylon Country. Work on the Beauly-Denny
power line is well under way and the countryside is being invaded by giant
metal skeletons. In the past few months their steady march has taken them
up the Sma’ Glen, around Crieff and on to the villages of Muthill and
Braco. Soon they will be strung together with cables and later this year
they’ll start delivering power generated by wind farms in the north of
Scotland to the Central Belt’s centres of population.
The 400,000 volt line, strung between 600 towering pylons along a 137-mile
route, is the most visible sign of the Scottish Government’s dash for
renewable energy. That policy finds itself at the centre of the referendum
debate this week, with energy reports from the Scottish and UK Governments
and a speech by First Minister Alex Salmond on how an independent Scotland
could become the “intellectual powerhouse” of renewables. Unusually, the
two sides in the debate agree on something: in this case that a UK-wide
energy market makes sense. There, though, views diverge. The Scottish
Government’s study, published yesterday, argues that UK Government policy
has created uncertainty for investors, hindered the growth of renewables in
Scotland and focused too heavily on expensive new nuclear powers stations
down south.
As a result, ministers say, the UK is facing its greatest risk of blackouts
for a generation as potential demand nudges perilously close to generating
capacity. Green power produced in Scotland could help keep the lights on
and bills down across Britain. But an independent Scottish Government would
require “a far greater degree of oversight” of a UK energy market that is
failing badly at present. The analysis of those in the pro-UK camp is very
different. They say talk of blackouts is irresponsible, a view shared by
Scottish generator SSE, whose director of policy Keith MacLean told an
industry conference last week such warnings were “scaremongering” and
“misleading”.
Moreover, they say Scottish renewable energy would not solve capacity
problems in the south, as shortages are more likely to occur when the wind
is not blowing and the considerable array of offshore turbines around the
English and Welsh coasts grinds to a halt. On a dead calm day in the depths
of winter, the UK would have to look across the Channel to French-generated
nuclear power, much as it does at present.
The real danger, argues the pro-UK side, is that an independent,
wind-dependent Scotland would end up purchasing English nuclear and
gas-generated power at premium prices. As for UK taxpayers continuing to
subsidise an independent Scotland’s green power revolution (such as the
£600 million Beauly Denny line), well, forget it.
Tomorrow the UK Government’s energy report, prepared by the Department of
Energy and Climate Change, is likely to put a frighteningly large number on
what that would mean for average household bills in Scotland. Whether that
puts the wind up voters remains to be seen.
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