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Energy Policy
A debate on motion S2M-2320, in the name of Alex
Johnstone, on energy policy, and four amendments to the motion.
The
Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning (Allan Wilson):
I apologise to the Presiding Officer and all members in the chamber,
especially colleagues on the Tory benches, for our tardy arrival.
I hope that this important debate will be conducted in a mature fashion, as
I have indeed publicly called for it to be. The current electricity
generation mix underpins a vibrant economy and provides both jobs and
security of supply. Those two objectives are, I am sure, shared by all
members, irrespective of their particular views on nuclear energy. However,
nuclear energy is an important part of that equation, because it provides
around what amounts to—for the purposes of the debate, let us not go into
too much detail—some 40 per cent of our electricity supply. I want to make
it clear that our position on nuclear power is as stated in the Executive's
programme for government. That means that we will not support new nuclear
power stations while waste management issues remain unresolved.
Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): Does the minister appreciate
the concern in the renewables energy industry about the fact that the
minister with responsibility for promoting renewable energy has publicly
stated that he supports nuclear energy? How can he reassure Scotland's
renewables sector that he will not adopt a half-hearted approach to
promoting renewables?
Allan Wilson: I see already that my plea for a mature debate has fallen on
deaf ears. With great regularity—I met people from Pilot, which represents
our oil and gas industry, in London only yesterday—I meet representatives of
the energy sector, including those who are involved in renewable energy
generation. Nobody has expressed those views to me because those views are
not held within the sector. We need a mature debate—
Shiona Baird: Will the minister answer a mature question then?
Allan Wilson: I give way to Shiona Baird.
Shiona Baird: Will the minister consider the nuclear waste management issue
to be resolved when the decision on how waste should be managed is made or
when the waste facility is actually constructed?
Allan Wilson: As the member will know, the Government established the
Committee on Radioactive Waste Management, which has the job of advising the
Government on how best to dispose of legacy nuclear waste. That advice will
be an important step along the road to determining how existing and future
waste should be disposed of. Neither Shiona Baird nor anyone else in the
chamber—with the possible exception of the nationalists—can be satisfied
with the current situation, whereby our nuclear waste is simply shipped to
England for storage. We all agree that the current state of affairs is
unsatisfactory. However, I can assure Alex Johnstone and others that, in
resolving the nuclear waste issue, we are determined to ensure that
Scotland's electricity supply industry retains the mix that is best suited
to our circumstances and economy.
Mr John Swinney (North Tayside) (SNP): I assure the minister that the
prospect of shipping nuclear waste to England does not give any satisfaction
to the nationalists either.
On the need to retain an energy mix, I ask the minister about the commitment
that he gave in a parliamentary debate on 6 October, when he said that he
would set up a forum to investigate, through greater dialogue among the
different partners, how the balance of energy in relation to renewable
technology might be developed. Will he give us an update on the conclusions
that the forum has reached and say whether it has proposed any concrete
changes to the planning regime or any strategic guidance on the location of
wind farms, which is an issue of concern to a great number of people
throughout the country?
Allan Wilson: I welcome Mr Swinney's mature contribution to the debate. The
forum met for the first time at the tail-end of last year and is in the
process of examining its remit. In a minute, I will come on to the energy
study that we commissioned at the end of last year to examine, among other
things, Scotland's current and future energy use and the appropriate mix of
the different forms of energy supply. I hope that its conclusions will put
us in a position to produce more detailed locational guidance on the
contribution that onshore wind should make to the mix.
Mr Swinney: Will the minister give way?
Allan Wilson: I have already given way on three occasions. I would like to
make some progress, but I would be happy to give way on other issues.
As I have just explained to John Swinney, to establish a Scottish baseline
we have commissioned a study of energy supply, flow and demand throughout
Scotland. If we are to meet future challenges, we need information about how
energy is produced and used here in Scotland, instead of relying on
extrapolation from United Kingdom data. The study will be published this
summer and its findings should provide a valuable source of data to inform
future decisions by the Executive on the most appropriate energy mix.
Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con) rose—
Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP) rose—
Allan Wilson: I will give way to Phil Gallie, as he indicated first that he
wanted to intervene.
Phil Gallie: Given the concerns that have been expressed today about nuclear
waste and, in the past, about nuclear decommissioning, will the minister
join me in congratulating all at the Hunterston A site on the way in which
they have gone about the task of decommissioning?
Allan Wilson: Very much so. I also congratulate staff at all sites in the
rest of Scotland and the UK where decommissioning work is under way. That
work is leading-edge technology that we in the UK have refined and developed
to the extent that it is sought after across the globe.
Nuclear power accounts for 40 per cent of Scotland's electricity. If we did
not have nuclear power, that energy would have to be generated from other
sources, which would include fossil fuels. That could significantly increase
carbon emissions, although the exact amount cannot be calculated without
making assumptions about the mix of the replacement sources. It is important
that the study that we have entered into considers a balanced mix of energy
generation sources.
Alex Neil: I believe that the study is being carried out by AEA Technology,
which is based at Glengarnock. What is the time horizon for the study? If it
does not look 20, 30 or 40 years ahead, it will be of limited utility in
planning our energy needs for the future.
Allan Wilson: The study will be required to look as far into the future as
is feasible, taking into account the circumstances that must be predicted
when we consider electricity generating sources. It will be ready in the
summer, so there is a very short timescale for its production. We expect
that it will help us to shape the future of energy policy in Scotland and
the rest of the UK.
As members know, a number of our base-load generating stations will come off
stream in the very near future. The real issue for Scotland is to put
together an energy policy that takes account of that prospective change and
of the two primary concerns of the Scottish people: security of supply and
combating climate change.
Our response to climate change is focused not only on how energy is
supplied. The UK Government's energy white paper also recognised that
managing demand—energy efficiency—has a vital part to play in addressing
future energy needs. Energy efficiency must be at the forefront of all our
efforts; in a low-carbon future, it is every bit as important as the move
towards renewable energy generation.
The Executive has a range of initiatives in place to improve energy
efficiency in the public, private and domestic sectors. Last year, we
announced £20 million to improve energy efficiency in the public sector. In
addition, the Executive works with the Carbon Trust and the Energy Saving
Trust, to which it provides £10 million a year in funding. In the immediate
future and the period covered by the study that AEA Technology is
undertaking, the option that is cleanest for the environment and most cost
effective for the economy is for us to save the energy that we do not use.
We must ensure that opportunities for saving energy are optimised.
Mr Ruskell: Will the minister give way?
Allan Wilson: I will take a final intervention.
The Presiding Officer: We are tight for time.
Mr Ruskell: Does the minister agree with the target set by the performance
and innovation unit that is attached to Westminster, which suggested that by
2020 we could reduce energy demand in the domestic sector by 40 per cent—a
huge saving that is possible and achievable?
Allan Wilson: Alongside the energy study that we are developing with AEA
Technology, which will consider the situation in 2010, 2020 and 2050, we are
developing an energy efficiency strategy for Scotland, as I told the
Enterprise and Culture Committee comparatively recently. That strategy will
define our objectives and strengthen what is already a joined-up approach to
demand-side management in Scotland.
I have not had enough time to discuss in great detail the vital role that we
envisage for the range of renewable generation sources: marine, wind,
biomass and hydrogen cell technology. I am sure that my Cabinet colleague
Ross Finnie will refer to all those sources of renewable energy in his
closing speech. In the short time that remains to me, I have much pleasure
in commending to members the Executive amendment to Alex Johnstone's motion.
I move amendment S2M-2320.4, to leave out from "is concerned" to end and
insert:
"welcomes the Scottish Executive's study into present and future energy
supply and demand in Scotland; supports the Executive's position of not
supporting the further development of nuclear power stations while waste
management issues remain unresolved; supports the Executive's continuing
commitment to the development of renewable energy in Scotland, including
wind, wave, tidal, solar and biomass power, as a key element of a balanced
energy supply portfolio; supports the Executive's commitment to achieving
40% renewable electricity generation by 2020, and welcomes the Executive's
proposal in the Review of the Climate Change Programme to create an Energy
Efficiency Strategy for Scotland."
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