Leader: New evidence must spark a rethink

THE MORE the Scottish Government’s commitment to renewable energy is exposed to objective scrutiny, the more it appears to be based on blind faith rather then evidence.

Earlier this week, Citigroup warned an independent Scotland could not sustain the annual subsidy of £4 billion to support reliance on renewable energy. Now the Institution of Mechanical Engineers warns the plan to generate 100 per cent of our electricity needs from renewables by 2020 is over-ambitious.

The institution says a reliance on renewables could force Scotland to import power from non-renewable sources in England, cutting emissions savings; that a large back-up energy supply will be needed; and the policy may increase fuel poverty.

Last night the Scottish Government claimed their policy had been misinterpreted saying it acknowledged the need for baseload, which was why gas generation at Cockenzie power station had been approved. However, Cockenzie along does not bridge the gap.

We have always argued on these pages that Scotland’s energy must come from a mixture of sources – including both renewables nuclear power – if we are to have relatively cheap, reliable source of electricity.

The institute is just the latest of a number of groups with no political axe to grind, but with considerable expertise, to expose areas of SNP policy as being founded more on belief than on facts.

To keep the lights on all over Scotland we need evidence-based policy making.