Michelin is to shut its tyre factory in County Antrim with the loss of 860 jobs – blaming intense competition from Asia and high energy costs. – Britain’s High Energy Costs Are Killing Competitiveness Of Manufacturing
Energy Minister Fergus Ewing has written to the UK Energy Secretary, Amber Rudd, asking for urgent changes to the UK Government’s policies and seeking reassurance that energy security issues are being properly considered. http://news.scotland.gov.uk/News/Energy-capacity-warning-1f11.aspx
Magnus Gardham, Political Editor ALEX Salmond’s £10million wave power prize should be scrapped, critics have claimed, amid fresh evidence of it sinking into chaos. The Saltire Prize, an ambitious international contest designed to make Scotland a world leader in wave and tidal power development, was launched with great fanfare in Read more
Written by Sue Restan The decision by Scottish ministers to reject plans for a 24-turbine wind farm on the edge of Rannoch Moor has been welcomed by the Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS). The scheme had previously been slammed as “insane” by the author of the hit TV series Outlander, Read more
By Iain Ramage A cluster of 13 massive wind turbines could be approved for a Highland wilderness that draws thousands of walkers and cyclists each year. The Culachy scheme, on a 6,700-acre site by the panoramic Corrieyairack Pass south of Fort Augustus, would feature 490ft-tall towers. Planning officers are recommending Read more
By Iain Ramage Highland councillors will make their own observations on Tuesday about the next line of super pylons planned for the north, linking substations along the 100-mile route from Kintore in Aberdeenshire to Beauly where it links in to the Denny transmission line. Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission (Shet) is Read more