(Edinburgh South) (Lab): A proper plan for jobs
would have Scottish renewables at its heart. There are four
simple steps that the Minister could take today to unleash that
proper plan’s potential: first, persuade the Treasury to create a
pot dedicated to tidal energy in the fourth contracts for
difference auction; secondly, instruct Ofgem to reform
transmission charges to stop disadvantaging Scotland; thirdly,
fund energy interconnectors from the island generators to the
mainland; and fourthly, back the Acorn carbon capture and
storage project. Those Government decisions would not
only transform the UK energy sector, but create a Scottish jobs
legacy from COP26. Will the Minister demand that his Cabinet
colleagues act now to create a proper jobs plan for Scotland?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (): The hon. Gentleman
raises an important issue. Scotland has enormous potential in the
renewables sector. I can reassure him that the Acorn
project is not dead; it did not get through to the
first two, but it is the reserve project and we will be working
closely to ensure that it is in a future round. Through my
Department, we are funding a number of renewable energy schemes
such as CoRE—the Community Renewable Energy project—in East
Ayrshire. Tidal energy, which the hon. Gentleman referred to, can
form part of the Orkney islands growth deal. More generally, I
would be happy to facilitate a meeting with my colleagues in the
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy so that
the hon. Gentleman can discuss the wider issues...
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