Council / Council ‘not pulling people in any direction’ over energy strategy survey
THE COUNCIL’S future energy manager has denied accusations that its energy strategy document is a “mechanism for manufacturing consent” with major renewable developments.
Douglas Irvine said Shetland Islands Council was “not in a business to pull people in any particular direction”.
It comes after a letter, co-signed by Adrian Brockless, Ernie Ramaker and Frank Hay last week, said the energy strategy seemed “designed to produce a veneer of public support”.
“Decisions that will shape Shetland for generations must be made through genuine consent, not through a consultation apparently designed to steer people toward a result that the council wants,” the trio said.
The purpose of the strategy is to explain to the Shetland public why the energy transition is happening, and to set out what a whole energy system would mean for the isles.
Attendees on Tuesday were told that the energy strategy “emphasises a Shetland approach that recognises legitimate local interest and concerns and delivers a fair energy transition for Shetland”.
Irvine was speaking at a public consultation exercise regarding the energy strategy at Islesburgh on Tuesday.
The survey – which is also available online – closes on Wednesday, with Irvine set to present the findings to councillors on 10 December.
However, some in attendance audibly questioned whether the strategy went far enough on large-scale energy developments.
One person, who was asked to fill in the survey, told another to “read the questions carefully” because they were “skewed and loaded”.
Irvine admitted that some people had been “fairly vocal on what their opinions are”, but said that was “what we want” as they put together the findings.
“The response has been really good,” he told Shetland News.
“I think some folk are coming in interested in what’s happening. Hopefully a push today would bring us well over 100 responses, which would be good.”
Irvine said it was clear from the survey responses that there were a “lot of people anxious about the scale of what’s being proposed in Shetland”.
They were “asking how we’re going to address that going forward,” he added.
“The online responses have been mixed between people being worried, and asking what the energy strategy actually means for us going forward,” Irvine continued.
“We’re getting both ends of the spectrum. We’re working on addressing the things we can address.”
Councillors stopped short of approving the draft energy strategy in September, ordering officials back to the drawing board again instead.
Concerns were raised about the strategy’s emphasis on hydrogen fuels, and what some felt was a lack of strength on new renewable energy developments.
Elected members chose to simply note the report, with depute leader Gary Robinson saying he wanted to see it brought back later this year with councillors’ concerns addressed.
Irvine said he was “confident that this exercise will help” address the concerns of councillors, and said they had been putting work into doing that.
However, he would not be drawn on what specifically they would be changing in the strategy.
The future energy manager said he was not aware of the public letter by Brockless, Ramaker and Hay when questioned on it.
Asked specifically about their line that the survey was a “mechanism for manufacturing consent”, Irvine said he felt they were “reading too much into” the survey.
“We’re not in a business to pull people in any particular direction,” he said.
“Online surveys are quite difficult to put together, so we give people the opportunity to make comments.
“We will report to the council the findings from the consultation.”
The energy strategy sets out five key aims for Shetland:
- Put people at the forefront of the energy transition
- Act as a blueprint for developers, funders and decision-makers
- Hold key partners in Shetland’s energy transition to account
- Provide information and awareness on how the energy transition will impact Shetland
- Influence and inform the development of both UK and Scottish renewable energy plans, policies and strategies
It also contains three main visions, which are that by 2045 Shetland will have a just transition, an “efficient, integrated energy system” and a “fair share” of the value and distribution of energy.
The strategy has been delayed twice, with councillors also voting in March 2024 to keep it in draft format.
You can still respond to the survey here, up until Wednesday 19 November.
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