Given recent newspaper headlines, one might think it a bit strange to
suggest that anyone should actually be encouraged to invest in anything
“offshore”. Well, that’s exactly what I’m calling on our politicians to do.
However, instead of funds quietly disappearing off to tax-havens such as
Panama or the Cayman Islands, I’m proposing an investment that would
genuinely benefit society, just off our own shores, on the islands of
Scotland. More precisely, I’d like to urge the Prime Minister David Cameron
to deliver on his promise last year to help unlock the green energy
potential of Scotland’s islands.
Establishing a financial mechanism, or “Contract for Difference”, to
support renewables on the islands as he committed and enabling them to
connect to the National Grid would lead to massive investment into some of
our most remote and rural communities.
Home to some of the best wind, wave and tidal resources in the entire
country it makes total sense for us to try and tap into that island
potential to generate clean power for Britain’s homes and businesses.
It’s been estimated renewables schemes in the Western Isles, Orkney and
Shetland could generate five per cent of total UK power demand by 2030.
That’s approaching the same output expected from the troubled Hinkley C
nuclear power station, but with none of the radioactive mess to clean-up
afterwards and for a fraction of the cost.
That level of output would also help Scotland to become the EU’s first
fully renewable electricity nation, and go a long way to helping
de-carbonise GB power supplies as the UK Government delivers on its Paris
climate change commitments.
Orkney and the Western Isles have very limited connections with the
mainland, while Shetland is completely isolated from the GB grid. As a
result, a number of wind farms on the islands that have already been
approved are unable to proceed because the transmission infrastructure to
export the power to the mainland is not strong enough, or in the case of
Shetland does not exist in any form.
But, fully connecting the islands is about more than ensuring security of
supply. It’s an infrastructure project that would bring many other
socio-economic benefits to some of the remotest parts of the country as
well as UK as a whole.
A recent report by energy consultants Baringa found renewables could be
worth £725 million to the island economies over the next 25 years. The same
study also found that schemes that have already been given the go-ahead in
the Western Isles would create 700 jobs during the construction phase and
up to 150 permanent posts. If planned renewables schemes happened across
all of the islands, up to 2,000 jobs would be created during the
development phase of these projects.
As well as enabling already consented schemes to progress, connecting and
strengthening connections to the islands could help unlock even greater
amounts of renewables, especially from island-based marine resources.
Perhaps one of the most exciting aspects of developing renewables on
Scotland’s islands is the potential for significant levels of community
ownership or equity. Whether it’s large wind power schemes or the tiny
tidal power array on Shetland – which successfully exported the first power
to the island grid recently – the potential benefits are huge.
On this point, the Baringa study estimates total community benefits from
the installation of renewable projects in the islands could reach £225m
while revenues to community-owned equity could total £390m.
All these potential benefits before you take account of the millions of
tonnes of climate-changing carbon dioxide that would be avoided annually
from not burning coal or gas.
As powers over energy are not fully devolved, if we want to reap all of
these benefits, we need politicians both north and south of the border to
work together to ensure Scotland’s islands are able to play their full
potential in the transition to a zero-carbon economy.
But the window is closing for the UK Government to take the action needed
to secure the investment and deliver the multiple economic and social
benefits both locally and nationally.
That’s why I hope the Prime Minister will make good on his pledge very soon.
Backing rural communities, creating jobs, and unlocking the renewables on
our islands would be one “offshore” investment everyone would be happy to
read about in the newspapers.
Lang Banks is the director of WWF Scotland.
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