MICHAEL SETTLE and MAGNUS GARDHAM
THE Scottish Government has come under fire after claims renewable energy
from an independent Scotland would be needed to keep the UK’s lights on.
The UK Government will publish its latest analysis paper tomorrow,
stressing the benefits of the UK’s “strong, stable consumer and tax base”.
It will also suggest households post-independence would face energy bills
that would rocket by several hundred pounds a year, amounting to an annual
overall cost by 2020 of £1.8 billion.
In contrast, First Minister Alex Salmond, who is in the US, will today use
a speech to extol Scotland as, per head, the “most energy-rich nation in
the EU” and one which can become the intellectual powerhouse of green energy.
In a report published yesterday, the SNP administration said the UK faced
its highest risk of blackouts for a generation and said Scotland’s
renewable power would be needed to keep the lights on and bills down in
England.
Tom Greatrex, Labour’s Shadow Energy Minister, pointed to comments by Keith
MacLean, power firm SSE’s policy director, who described warnings of energy
shortages as scaremongering.
Mr Greatrex said: “The views of SSE … undermine the SNP’s justification
for why billpayers in a foreign country would continue to subsidise our
renewable electricity into the future.”
The MP said pooling resources benefited Scottish generators and UK
consumers as well as provided a boost for green technology in Scotland.
An SNP Government spokeswoman noted how Dr MacLean had admitted the
electricity capacity margin was getting “quite tight”, caused in part by a
“hiatus” in energy policy.
She added: “This week’s report by the Scottish Government confirms
sufficient reserves of generating capacity are needed to cope with peaks
in demand and to prevent price rises and the lights going out.”
An SSE spokesman said: “We will continue to advocate views we believe are
in the best interests of energy consumers, whether those are around price,
sustainability or security of supply, and will continue to work
constructively with all governments and political parties on these issues”.
Ed Davey, the Energy Secretary, said the “broad shoulders of the UK” were
key to the success of Scotland’s renewables potential.
Noting how Scotland benefited from a disproportionate amount of support for
renewable energy – 28%, despite it only accounting for 10% of electricity
sales – the Secretary of State said: “Going green will become more
expensive if Scotland goes it alone. The consumer would see energy bills
rocket if they have to pay for Scottish renewables alone without
contribution from the rest of the UK.
“Right across the energy mix, Scotland benefits from being part of the UK’s
strong, stable consumer and tax base; supporting thousands of jobs,
creating new supply chains and cementing the energy sector as the engine
room of the economy.”
In New York Mr Salmond will say Scotland is blessed with strengths in
energy innovation, hailing Aberdeen as Europe’s oil and gas capital and
saying Glasgow has “become pre-eminent in the development of offshore wind
technology”.
He will add: “Our energy resources can power much of Europe, our energy
innovation can power the world. It’s a time for Scotland – working with
nations and companies from across the planet – to become the intellectual
powerhouse of green energy.”
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