Mackies chairman calls for renewables drive to avoid energy crisis

By ANDREW WHITAKER
Published on 30/05/2012 12:10

THE chairman of ice cream and crisp manufacturers Mackies has warned MSPs that the “lights will go out” for Scotland’s electricity supply unless there’s a drive towards renewable energy.

Maitland Mackie, speaking at the Scottish Parliament’s economy and energy committee today, said that energy bills will “undoubtedly” keep rising unless there’s an expansion of wind farms to create renewable energy.

Mr Mackie went onto say that Scotland was running out of fossil fuels as he called on MSPs to focus on renewable energy rather than nuclear power.

He said: “We have to realise that the cost of energy is going to do this until we move towards renewables and we need the guts to make policies to help spread it around.

“We have to take it forward and if we don’t do it the lights will go out.

“The world is running out of fossil fuels and we have to fill this increasing gap. We must not let history cloud our judgements.

“Scotland doesn’t need nuclear. Nuclear scares the proverbial out of me and there’s bound to be a nuclear disaster, so the less of these things the better.

“If we focus on renewable energy the world will be ours.”