Scotland needs an energy infrastructure to adequately exploit renewable sources at a level to meet the variety of demands likely to be demanded. To do this it needs an energy agency at government level,.
― UK energy policy since 1980 has failed Scotland. It has led to the six largest energy companies seeing profit margins rise 4.48% since 2016, with 34.9% of households in Scotland currently facing fuel poverty.
― The Scottish Government should invest in energy infrastructure and electric vehicles to meet 75% of overall energy demand by 2030.
Energy Infrastructure
― Scotland has only captured 0.06% of marine energy potential. The Scottish Government should boost R&D in wave and tidal technology, with an aim to capture 25% of marine energy resource by 2030.
― Scotland is on track to meet 100% of electricity demand by 2020. The Scottish Government should look to invest in grid modernisation and energy storage to increase efficiency and decrease costs to consumers.
― The Scottish Government should create a not-for-profit energy company with municipal control, led by a Scottish Energy Agency.
― The Scottish Energy Agency should work with the NorthConnect project to provide Scotland with a route to export its additional renewable resource to mainland Europe.
― Create a National Battery Technology Innovation Centre to drive investment in new innovative battery technology, working with universities.
Electric Vehicles
― Low Emission Zones should create a strategy to slowly increase the level of emissions banned as we move towards a full ban of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030.
― Create an electric vehicle strategy which increases focus on access to electric vehicles, with an aim to have electric vehicles meet 50% of the car market share.
― Increasing electric vehicle energy use would see an average energy demand increase by 3.82GW.
― Invest £82m in additional funding to build up Scotland’s charging infrastructure, with an aim to see five charging stations for every 1,000 electric vehicle drivers.
Autonomous Distribution
― Autonomous vehicles require testing trails in Scotland to have a greater understanding of the market. £19m would be required for testing cars in rural and urban areas, but tests would also be required for shipping and platooning.
― Agricultural technology requires £20m in R&D investment to boost the technology with an aim to implement autonomous testing.
― To meet the legal and ethical guidelines for autonomous vehicles a Connected Autonomous Vehicle Centre is required.
Renewable Shipping
― 15 of the 33 ferries in the Caledonian MacBrayne fleet have an operational profile that makes electric (eight) and hybrid (seven) ferries profitable, with three already run on hybrid technology and two soon to come into service.
― £62m in additional investment is required to meet the green ferry demand by 2030. £121m would be saved in operation costs over a 10 year period, with a return in 5.5 years.
― All ferry services run by Caledonian MacBrayne should be run on electric or hybrid vessels by 2030 with an additional 0.0025GW added to the energy demand.
― Create a Carbon Fund wherein the business sector commits to achieving certain emission reductions through payments to an environmental fund, and these are then fed back to industry actors as investment support for additional costs incurred in enacting measures to reduce emissions.
― Additional strategies in defence, broadband, housing and fishing are required to enhance the efficiency of Scotland’s energy policy.
Scotland's capability to implement energy policy is currently hindered and as such is unable to realise its potential as a powerhouse of renewable energy without a radical shift in the UK Government’s approach to energy.
The existing energy policy implemented by the UK Government has proven not to be fit for purpose. It has provided a market led, privatised monopoly which has left a significant number of citizens in fuel poverty.
The Scottish Government, over the past number of years has been more proactive, in spite of the limitations of its control. This has encouraged the safeguarding of important landscapes, and directed investment towards green technology. However, limited access to power means successes have also been limited.
By adopting a more collectivist attitude toward energy where necessary and breaking away from the policy regime of the UK Government, Scotland can then invest in the strategic planning and public ownership which has seen success in neighbouring countries.
The structures of the new national energy company may be able to reduce costs for consumers once it is created. However, this energy company will currently have to work within the confines of the UK national energy strategy.
The Scottish Government would have the ability to enact many of the policies put forward throughout this paper under devolution, but a key constraint on a truly transformative policy is the limited fiscal powers devolved to Holyrood (especially borrowing powers), which requires further devolution which encroaches beyond energy policy. The limitations of a UK privately-run energy grid would also act as a limiting factor on the proposals proposed above.
The more powers that the Scottish Parliament can gain – up to and including independence - the better equipped Scotland will be to develop a fully-fledged bespoke energy strategy.