HOW is it that multinational energy companies and their shareholders have come to rule our lives, dictating the future of our environment, health, and economy, and why does the Scottish Government allow them unfettered access? The proposed SSEN Fanellan substation near Beauly is one such mega site, with ever-multiplying arms and a radius of impact extending way beyond the Highlands to every corner of the UK.
The practice of paying energy companies when their wind turbines are idle, while they routinely stockpile energy generated beyond grid capacity, effectively being paid twice for it, must stop. This issue affects every person and business in the entire country who are paying for the greed of multinationals and their shareholders. SSE reported a loss in 2023. It is therefore not surprising that it would flood the north with substations, battery storage facilities and pylons, so that wind farms can “invest” – joining in the wholesale desecration of the natural environment and communities for corporate profit. The practice of splitting this infrastructure into multiple planning applications and “consultations”, masking the true scale of development throughout the country, is misleading and to my mind unethical. How can planning applications be considered fully when they have not provided evidence of need, are subject to future design and have not engaged with local communities in a meaningful way? Why is technology currently being abandoned in Europe being hailed as the saviour of net zero targets here and why should we accept this corporate-greed spin with zero accountability?
Multinational control of energy production, storage and export means less energy security locally and higher bills for all. Why can energy not be generated by communities for communities, so that power does not need to travel vast distances and cannot be turned off by future conflicts or foreign powers? Despite elections coming, the silence from politicians at all levels of government on the industrialisation of our countryside is deafening. It is time for a moratorium on all such developments and an investigation into SSE’S relationship with the Scottish Government.
Georgina Coburn, Beauly.
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