The rural communities of Scotland are shouldering the weight of renewable energy developments and are often seeing failing public transport and other services, closing schools, the grim reality of the housing crisis and some of the highest energy costs.
We need a just transition to Net Zero that actually delivers just outcomes for local people. This means expanding community ownership, enhancing local community benefit arrangements and the establishment of an independent national fund for communities so that everyone in Scotland can be part of the energy transition.
The simplistic depiction of renewables vs communities is a fallacy. Moreover, it has the potential to be dangerous if this debate is co-opted by politicians who are looking to sow division and draw attention away from the structural failings of our economic system. We cannot allow regressive politics to undermine opportunities for a more equitable economic system, nor damage our drive to decarbonise the economy. Politicians and developers must accept that communities must receive more to secure the future of renewable energy in Scotland.
The debate about current renewables development comes down to how we want our economy to work: should it continue as an extractive, corporate-led economy, or should we make it work for normal people? We need to decarbonise our economy and find more sustainable ways of producing energy. We also need to develop our local economies, strengthen community agency and reduce glaring inequality. Community-owned energy is an established model which can help achieve all of this.