IAN Murray has said Scotland can “look forward to the benefits” – including lower energy bills – after Labour announced changes to the planning system in order to fast-track energy projects.
However, the Scottish Secretary’s rhetoric has been questioned by the SNP – who say Scotland’s resources are being treated as “Westminster’s cash cow” while bills continue to rise.
Labour has consistently pledged to reduce energy bills, both before and after the General Election. However, new estimates indicate that bills are expected to increase in April next year, even after a confirmed rise in January.
In a new bid to push forward energy infrastructure development in the UK, Labour Energy Secretary Ed Miliband on Friday announced his plan for achieving “the target of clean power by 2030”. This target had previously been 100%, but has recently been revised downwards to 95%.
In their bid to push for more clean energy, Labour said they would:
- Clean up the “dysfunctional” power grid by ending the first-come-first-served planning system and instead prioritise projects based on how ready they are to be rolled out.
- Bring onshore wind back into the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) regime in England.
- Draft a Planning and Infrastructure Bill with “measures to streamline the delivery of critical infrastructure in the planning process”.
- Expand the renewable auction process so projects can get funding agreed before their planning permission has been finalised.
- Bring in “pro-consumer reforms to help households have more choice and access to cheaper energy tariffs”.
The Labour Government claimed that their actions would “unleash £40 billion a year of mainly private investment” and “reindustrialise Britain with thousands of skilled jobs across the country”.
Miliband said: “A new era of clean electricity for our country offers a positive vision of Britain’s future with energy security, lower bills, good jobs and climate action. This can only happen with big, bold change and that is why the government is embarking on the most ambitious reforms to our energy system in generations.”
Scottish Secretary Murray added: "The UK Government is working to strengthen our energy security as we harness our natural resources to help reduce people's bills and accelerate our journey to net zero and Scotland has a vital role to play in this.
"With the publicly owned Great British Energy being headquartered in Aberdeen, helping to bring jobs, investment and economic growth, Scotland can look forward to the benefits of our clean energy mission.”
However, the SNP questioned the commitments to Scotland.
"There are still more questions than answers surrounding GB Energy: How many jobs are going to be created in the north east of Scotland? How will it bring energy bills down? How is it going to deliver economic growth? How will it deliver a just transition for thousands of workers?
“Scotland's energy cannot continue to be Westminster’s cash cow. Scotland's resources should be in Scotland's hands, with the significant benefit of those resources being invested back into our communities, and putting money in people's pockets."
The vast amount of infrastructure that Labour have pledged to see built over the next few years comes with difficult trade offs, including some significant impacts on communities and nature.
As more pylons and wind turbines go up across the country, those living in areas nearby will be offered a range of direct benefits such as lower energy bills, which will be outlined in legislation next year, the UK Government said.
To mitigate nature impacts, Labour also said they will set up a marine recovery fund for offshore wind and will engage with all stakeholders early next year on how to best encourage nature-positive best practices into energy infrastructure development.
