Independent Scotland could make ‘transformational’ energy policy

Independence for Scotland would clear the way for transformational energy policy. That was the Yes Scotland argument at a Scottish Renewables conference on Monday.

Environmentalist and Yes campaigner Stan Blackley said the renewables industry had thrived in Scotland “despite the disinterest and incompetence of the UK government”. Dealing with Westminster is “like banging your head against a brick wall” and holds back green policy.

An independent Scotland could promote renewable energy through the planning system and regulatory incentives, he said, as well as devoting more resources to energy efficiency and driving North Sea interconnectors. It would not be obliged to subsidise the new nuclear plant planned in England.

“At best, a Yes vote will give us the opportunity to deliver transformational change and, at the very least, it gives us more powers,” said Blackley.

Shadow energy minister Tom Greatrex MP made the case for Better Together. “I don’t sit particularly comfortably with politics that defines people by difference,” he said.

Investment in Scottish renewables is backed by electricity demand from the rest of Britain. A separate Scotland could not count on selling to that market, said Greatrex. “There is nothing intrinsically special about low carbon power from Scotland compared to any other source.”

Energy secretary Ed Davey took a similar line on the subject in his keynote speech. “It is an easy matter to assert that the Single Energy Market would continue as it is, but independence is independence,” he said. “Divergence isn’t just possible – it is likely.”

He added: “It will be much harder for a nation potentially having to spread the costs of investment in renewables across just two and a half million households to keep prices competitive.”