Leader: Salmond’s green dream becalmed

AFTER all the First Minister’s rhetoric on the renewable power revolution and Scotland becoming “the Saudi Arabia of renewables”, the weather has played cruel tricks on his lofty claims. Official figures show renewable power generation, a flagship SNP policy, declined last year. Lack of rainfall and low wind speeds were the culprits.

Despite new wind turbines coming on stream and approval given for many more, electricity generated by wind energy rose by just 6 per cent, while hydro production fell by a third. Less the Saudi Arabia of renewables, it seems, more the Saltcoats.

As if to make matters worse for Mr Salmond, renewable energy generation in England surged ahead to almost 14,000GWh. Scotland, by contrast, dropped below 10,000GWh – the first time it has done so in seven years.

The figures come just days after former US vice-president and climate campaigner Al Gore lavished praise on Mr Salmond for his renewable energy targets. The First Minister described renewables as the biggest revolution since the switch from “hunter-gatherer to agriculture”.

His administration is pledged to have Scotland generating all its electricity needs from renewables by 2020. Now business and domestic consumers are left to wonder just how reliable these targets are and the advisability of having heavy dependence on variable weather. More setbacks like these and we could be going back to bearskin rugs. Surely the First Minister doesn’t want to be known as Scotland’s Fred Flintstone?