Standing in the queue for coal, long redundant words suddenly ignite again; peat, premium trebles, smokeless ovals and anthracite. Pondering the fuel of my youth I recall the herculean men, like my Uncle Eck, who could lift a steel bucket full of ash then march off in search of a distant bin lorry. How they would laugh at my feeble attempt to wrestle bags of the black stuff into the boot of my car. I’m risking back and wheel suspension because I have net zero confidence in today’s political class. Those who have dug the UK into such an obvious energy hole don’t have the gumption to get us back out.
Wind power has predictably flopped over the last six months. From April through to September, SSE reported that power was down by a profit-crunching third. That headline figure disguises the many days without any useful wind. Trusty gas filled the energy gap last spring/summer but that super fossil fuel has been priced out of the market for many this autumn/winter. Rather than take a raincheck on unreliable renewables, Scotland is doubling down on energy failure. SSE wants to blockade the Forth with yet another monstrous wind farm. The Scotwind proposal will sacrifice an incredible 1,313 km2 of space where there can be no fishing, oil and gas extraction or bird life. Thankfully, Edinburgh has no continental ferries, they’d have to all detour via Newcastle.
The Chinese Government recently recognised the need to secure energy supplies this winter “at all costs”. Our government’s priority is the maintenance of public wind subsidies, currently standing at £10 billion/year. An energy industry still producing 1 million barrels of oil per day, at near $80/barrel, should have no claim on working class pay packets. I accept the need to reduce CO2 emissions globally but not the punitive timescale or the wasteful methods. Politicians prematurely calling for fossil fuels to be left in the ground should be given a shovel to bury the many energy poor this winter. For our MPs/MSPs have not prepared the groundwork for such a dramatic shift in power use. My Uncle Eck would immediately recognise the current energy policy for what it is… useless green garbage worthy of the bin.
Calum Miller, Prestonpans, East Lothian
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