What the Minister Said

Deputy First Minister and Minister for Enterprise and Life Long Learning,
Nicol Stephen MSP

I want to look at the global challenge and the Scottish challenge.

Two weeks ago I was one of those who had the opportunity to hear President Bill Clinton in Glasgow. He bitterly regretted the decision of his successor not to sign the United States up to the Kyoto agreement.

He noted the change in attitudes to renewable energy in the last two decades.

When oil was $11 a barrel people laughed.

When oil was $25 a barrel people yawned.

Now oil is near $70 a barrel people ask why we haven't done anything sooner.

President Clinton is right. We all know that climate change is a clear and present danger.

We can see the ice caps melting live before our eyes through web cams.

We can watch mainstream TV programmes bringing the issue into every home and the debate to every water cooler.

The global challenge is to now make the progress we should have done at $10 a barrel before oil gets to $100. That is the global challenge.

Who in this room would dare predict what the price will be in 10 or 20 years time.

The challenge for Scotland is no less important. We have the opportunity to do great things.

We have the capacity to supply 25% of Europe's wind energy and 25% of all Europe's tidal energy.

We have the potential.

We have the world class universities and research.

And we have the skills and technology from the oil and gas industry which directly transfer.

I have seen them myself - Ross Deeptech making the Pelamis - using the workers and the sheds at Stonehaven and Methil.

Rotech, here in Aberdeen.

BiFab at Burntisland.

Arnish. Macrahanish.

All being used by Scottish companies like Ocean Power Delivery, Scottish Power and Scottish and Southern Energy and Lunar Energy.

There's a lot going on and it is the people in this room who are making it happen and will make it happen in the future.

There is a role for Ministers in this.

My job - and the challenge for all of us - is to ensure we lay down the energy infrastructure for the 21st century in the same way that those in the 19th century created the industrial and transport infrastructure that they needed and we still use.

It is a future that doesn't have to be all about the whispering giants; the centralised power stations, whether nuclear, coal, oil or gas.

We can create a different future.

A renewables future;

A mix of wind, wave, tidal, solar, biomass, microrenewables;

New grid investment, smarter grid technology - look at how Flextricity are leading the way in Scotland.

Energy is more than electricity. Transport and heating take up their full shares of demand as well. So our future plans will seriously renewable heat not just electricity, and we will recognise that 60% of the energy from big, centralised generation goes straight up the chimney.

And, looking into the future, we need to harness everything that hydrogen can achieve for us.

So what does a Clean Energy Strategy look like?

Well, we have already set out our targets. 40% of electricity from renewables by 2020.

Maf Smith warned us in the P&J on Monday that we should never refer to that as "ambitious" again.

He's right. We have already hit 16%. Scottish ministers have made it clear we don't see 40% as a cap, and want the UK to catch up.

We have published our climate change strategy which for the first time establishes a separate Scottish contribution to UK targets; exceeding our fair share of UK targets by 1 million tonnes by 2010 - 2.7million tonnes rather than 1.7million tonnes.

We have created the Forum for Renewable Energy in Scotland - FREDS - a mix of government, industry, academic and financial clout, surely uniquely placed to drive the agenda. We are already taking forward its marine and biomass recommendations; I have more to announce later on its other work.

Government has responsibility for planning policy. We are taking seriously the need for dramatic change to make renewables a reality. Three weeks ago we published new planning advice to make it easier for householders and business to install wind turbines, solar and microgeneration.

We will soon be changing planning guidance to make it easier for communities to insist on renewables as part of new developments and to promote the best areas of Scotland.

As well as land use, we deal with the Electricity Act which is another important part of planning.

Scotland has had some success. We have consented 1500MW of wind generation since 2003. There are 41 applications in the queue with the potential for 4700MW. I am determined to speed up the process of gaining consents. The department has already strengthened its consents team and is looking for ways to move faster.

Interest in wind development off the coast has been increasing and I can announce today plans to produce a strategic environmental assessment for offshore wind in Scotland.

I will also take the opportunities to promote Scottish business. Later this morning I will meet representatives from global businesses to set out, alongside our Scottish developers, the fantastic opportunities for manufacturing renewable plant and equipment in Scotland. I think it is part of my job to lobby at a UK level on the grid upgrades and sub-sea cables needed to boost Scottish renewable energy - and to campaign to change the transmission charge regime that limits us.

The transmission charge regime with its priority on reducing transmission losses only makes proper sense if you are using up valuable, finite resources.

Wind and wave are unlimited and free.

There ought to be no problem in exporting renewable energy South from Scotland when the alternative is to be prepared to take coal from Chile or gas from the far side of the Ukraine or uranium from who knows where.

I am determined to campaign strongly for subsea cables from our island groups to the south.

Government can also, on occasion, supply some creative thinking. I announced last year that I want to see the process of Renewable Obligation Certificates changed to give extra support to the emerging marine technologies that need it most. We have published our consultation on this in the last few days.

All these elements are part of a Clean Energy Strategy. Everything works towards that.

But it also takes financial resource.

In the last three years Scottish Ministers we have invested big on renewable energy support, on biomass, on energy efficiency, on R&D and on grants for microgeneration for homes and communities.

In fact we have invested almost £100million in the last three years - way ahead of any other part of Britain or Northern Ireland.

That pace picks up from today.

All of that work continues.

Add to that also that I am announcing today the allocation of £20m extra for the next two years to support renewable energy. £7.5 million will support our biomass action plan. FREDS identified the capacity to generate 500MW and support 2000 jobs.

£8m will be available to support marine developments.

The Executive has provided support and resource for OPD's Pelamis and commitment for the Talisman Project.

We have added tidal research capabilities at EMEC.

I am now making £8m available for further developments in Scotland. Money available to help get projects in the water in Scotland. I want to see Scottish technology like Pelamis off the shores of Scotland as well as Portugal.

And our changes to ROCs will support them when they get there.

I am releasing £1.5m to support development of hydrogen and fuel cell projects - over and above the sums already allocated by ITI energy to build Scottish innovation.

And I have announced £3m extra to take the Scottish Communities and Householder Renewables Initiative further for two more years to build ion the success it has had - double the number of Scottish installers and making microregeneration a reality for 150 communities across the country.

Close

These are big ambitions. I know that the people in the room share them. And you can make it happen.

These are plans that are good for the environment and good for Scottish business.

I am determined…