Draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan consultation

The new, progressive energy strategy and Just Transition *must* be underpinned by a departure from corporate, centralised and foreign ownership of Scotland’s energy sector and its assets to public, distributed ownership in order that profits from sector activity are reinvested in its ongoing development.

To in any way qualify as a Just Transition, Scotland should not follow the UK government’s morally bankrupt model of privatised utilities eg water, National Grid, gas, sea ports. Profits from such services, which every Scottish citizen depends upon, are bled out of the country and out of the service to foreign shareholders and fund holders.

The Scottish government is responsible for upholding a social contract with its people and this should require the government to replace this failed, discredited market-led approach with public service ownership for the benefit of our people and the planet.

The Scottish National Investment Bank has thus far under-performed in its delivery of raising investment for the large, green infrastructure projects it was established to fulfil. The SNIB is just one financial vehicle which could help deliver elements of the new energy strategy and Just Transition, without recourse to foreign investors. If the Welsh government can start a public energy company, why can energy-rich Scotland not do likewise?

Employees in the Scottish oil and gas sector should now, as we speak, be taking up retraining programmes in the Just Transition to net zero. I understand that many in the sector want to transition but retraining opportunities and green technology jobs are not happening at sufficient scale and pace to optimise their redeployment in Scotland; and government must do all it can to retain this skilled workforce in Scotland. This effort must therefore be stepped up and enhanced incentives offered, to enable green jobs’ benefits for workers, their families and communities to accrue.

Support to SMEs with fossil fuel-based products should be stepped up eg through Scottish Enterprise to ensure conventional fuel technologies are rapidly replaced by green energy systems.

Augmented advice and attractive financial support to householders, housing associations & landlords should be widely promoted and made available. There is virtually no mention of energy efficiency or insulation mentioned in the draft strategy. These should be given far higher prominence because most citizens live in existing properties where retrofitting for net zero is essential. Only new build property appears to attract the requisite, radical net zero treatment in the document ie Passivhaus is now minimum standard in building regulations .

As recommended by building professionals and net zero commentators, whole street programmes of retrofitting eg tenements and social housing need to be financed and delivered. We are in both a Climate Emergency and Cost of Living crisis. Most citizens are unable to fund the scale of retrofitting required to bring their homes up to an A or B energy efficiency rating.

As described in Q1 communities and citizens can only be assured to benefit when the Scottish government signals a long-term pre-disposition towards distributed, public ownership of energy generation and transmission. The government must therefore continue to promote and support the growth of community ownership of energy generation and Land Reform.

See above.

See above.

We are experiencing a Climate Emergency and cost of living crisis. Most citizens cannot hope to retrofit their homes and decarbonise their businesses without long term government intervention in support of this important activity.

Drive larger and at scale green energy projects through the SNIB.

Enable to re-establishment of stock exchanges in our largest cities to drive inward investment in SME green energy businesses (not core energy utilities which must be in public ownership).

See above.

One important target group for green energy jobs are those school pupils/leavers who till now have taken up integrated courses (HND followed by Degree) in eg chemical engineering run jointly by Herriot Watt University and Forth Valley College. These courses were aimed at providing educational pathways to pupils (hoping for petro-chemical work at Ineos Grangemouth) who would not normally be attracted to university and academic studies. Such integrated courses should be established for the green energy sector.

More STEM ambassadors to incentivise women into traditionally male dominated employment.

With Contracts for Difference awarded to Orbital Marine Power’s O2 floating tidal stream turbine, a target should be set for tidal energy to drive its development to full commercialisation in Scotland and global sales.

Target set for tidal energy should be SMART and based on the number and capacity for tidal turbines within Scottish waters.

SNIB should be driving investment into particularly the tidal sector which is now at an advanced stage of development in the form of the O2 floating tidal stream turbine. Increased and ongoing finance should be directed at EMEC in Orkney to this end. This should include accelerated advancement of the islands’ established green hydrogen production.

Funding of a second subsea grid interconnector from Orkney to the Scottish mainland should be made to enable surplus green energy generated on the islands to be exported.

See above.

As above.

As above.

A National Energy Company, as mooted by Common Weal and others must be established to ensure that the Scottish people and planet benefit from new energy infrastructure, not foreign shareholders and multinational corporations as is the ethically-compromised UK government’s model.

See Q1.

District heating and thermal storage, as being rolled out in Denmark, should be exploited in locations like Grangemouth who’s industrial area has generated heat for decades which could have been tapped for district heating.

With recent advancements in green hydrogen eg in Orkney, batteries for trucks covering up to 1200km in a single journey are now a reality. The decarbonisation of vehicles in this category should be initiated at scale and pace.

The transport industry should be asked to contribute. Eco-tax on the fossil fuel industry could be raised by the UK government to transition the HGV fleet.

Battery technology must improve efficiency of its products. 80% efficiency is simply unsustainable