Scotland must plan for renewable energy

If Scotland is to become a net exporter of energy rather than importer of its future energy needs, then urgent action is required to speed up planning decisions, enlarge the power grid and create partnerships within the industry to encourage the growth of the renewables sector.

This is the view of Alan Baker, chief executive of Airtricity in Scotland, responsible for the development, construction and operation of more than 1000MW of renewable projects and one of the leading developers of wind farms in the UK.
“Scotland has a real opportunity to harness wind energy and be a net exporter rather than importer of its future energy needs, in a market where security of supply is of key concern,” he says.

“The country can benefit financially from the supply chain infrastructure required to support a vibrant renewables sector. Where feasible, we have used companies with a Scottish base to help fulfil our construction and maintenance needs and this has delivered around