Scottish government needs energy commission, says report

A new independent commission of experts should be set up to advise the Scottish government on energy, a heavyweight report has recommended.

The wide-ranging study, which sets out the conclusions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh’s (RSE) two-year long inquiry into the future energy challenges facing Scotland, was published on Monday (17 June).

Its headline conclusion is the establishment of an independent advisory commission on energy policy and governance, which it says should be set up on a statutory basis, like the UK government’s Committee on Climate Change.

The RSE says the new body would provide the Scottish government, legislators and regulators with “integrated and impartial advice on all aspects of energy policy and governance”, such as by helping to gather the evidence to underpin decision taking.

The commission would also consider the implications of wider issues that extend beyond energy like the so called “Just Transition” to decarbonisation, climate change mitigation, economic development, environmental protection, planning and transport.

The report by Scotland’s leading learned society, which was founded in 1783, says a move towards electrification of Scotland’s energy mix would require a “significant” increase of up to 145 per cent in generating capacity to meet current peak demands. This will in turn require “substantial” new infrastructure to facilitate electrification.

It says that as the “significant” proportion of Scotland’s electricity supply currently generated by nuclear power plants is phased out, there will be an “inevitable” increase in energy imports from abroad, unless a “significant investment” takes place in domestic generating capacity.

The report raises “serious concerns” over whether an increasing reliance on imported electricity provides Scotland with suitable energy security.

As a result, it recommends that investment in a “balanced portfolio” of energy generation options may be “necessary”.

Scotland’s energy security can also be enhanced by increasing the capacity and diversifying the range of storage options, including natural gas stores, north of the border as well as more interconnections.

While the report acknowledges that there are uncertainties surrounding the viability of different technologies, it says this should not stop the “much-needed decisions” on investment required to transition to a low-carbon energy system.

“It may be the case that all of the options put forward merely serve as stop-gaps to something entirely different.”

And all levels of government must be prepared to review and change existing policies if they are at odds with, or vary from, the “overriding goal” of carbon reduction.

The study also lays a heavy emphasis on the need for the enforcement of higher standards of energy efficiency in new-build housing and infrastructure, including the installation of low-temperature district heating schemes in new-build neighbourhoods and potentially requiring that all new housing is energy neutral.

Sir Muir Russell, inquiry chair and Scotland’s former chief civil servant, said: “Energy is a highly complex area of policy. The reality is that no energy policy will ever solve all the problems and paradoxes of energy supply and use. However, what is vital is a holistic approach to developing policy, underpinned by a robust, evidence-based understanding of all options and the advantages and disadvantages of every option.

“If policy makers want to achieve particular outcomes, they must first fully understand all the issues and consequences and invest in time and resource to achieve that understanding; and in the meantime, be careful of promising too much or the wrong things.”