Salmond urged not to throw caution to the wind on energy

Published on Saturday 9 August 2008 19:19

ALEX Salmond's renewables policy will come under attack from business groups this week ahead of a Parliamentary inquiry into Scotland's future energy provision.

Business groups warn that Salmond's target of generating 50% of Scotland's electricity from renewable sources by 2020 does not "stand up to scrutiny" and the Government should look at all energy sources, including nuclear and coal, with the aim of making Scotland self-sufficient in future.

As the global energy market becomes increasingly competitive amid growing demand and rising prices, business groups say the Government needs to make securing Scotland's future provision a priority if it wants to maintain private sector interest in the country.

Graham Bell, spokesman for the Scottish and Edinburgh Chambers of Commerce, said: "Business and industry don't like uncertainty. They don't like not knowing what's going to happen tomorrow. Demand is starting to exceed supply and it's a serious issue. How we get ourselves there (to the point of self-sufficiency] – that should be a key part of the plan."

Scotland is presently an exporter of electricity but will be forced to import it in future as two major power stations have been marked for closure within the next 10 years.

Bell warned that although the Government's renewables plan is laudable, it does not appear to take account of the unreliability of some alternative forms of energy generation.

"We have a feeling that the minister has taken the capacity measurements of wind installation, for example, as given for what they actually deliver and they don't. They're not 100% efficient, few things are.

"We need an energy plan that stands up to scrutiny which means we make the most use of the existing sources we have.

"Nuclear has to be considered as part of the mix. We also need to invest in our coal reserves which are still considerable."

Salmond, who has been hailed as a renewables "saint", would like to see all of Scotland's nuclear power stations closed by 2020.

In their submissions ahead of the economy, energy and tourism inquiry into Scotland's energy future – the deadline for which is on Friday – business groups are also expected to push for more thought to be given to how energy-savings programmes affect Scotland's small and medium-sized businesses, which commonly find it more difficult to meet targets.

"There needs to be a much more clear and accessible programme around the whole issue of saving energy. It needs to be much better adapted for SMEs," Bell added.

The economy, energy and tourism committee, convened by Tavish Scott, intends to assess "what type of future we want in Scotland in terms of the production, distribution and more efficient use of energy, and how and when it can be delivered to meet the Scottish Government's objectives of increasing renewable energy generation and reducing emissions".

Oral hearings are scheduled to start next month.