Election / Time is right to ‘put Shetland in control’ as Goodlad sets out plans for Shetland Energy Act
SNP election candidate Hannah Mary Goodlad has set out plans for a Shetland Energy Act which would limit industrialisation and give the isles control over energy developments.
Announcing some of her ideas today (Monday) Goodlad, who is standing for the SNP at May’s Scottish elections, said the time was right for a move that would put Shetland in control of its energy future.
Among her aims are a Shetland energy tariff and statutory protection for land and communities.
Goodlad has called on her fellow candidates for the Shetland seat in the forthcoming Scottish Parliamentary election to back her proposals.
Her move comes in response to growing unrest and frustration in communities over the sheer size of energy transition projects planned for the isles.
Increasingly communities have come to vocalise anger at how little power they, as well as local authorities, have in the decision-making processes for major energy transition projects.
Goodlad said her proposal would rebalance the power over decision making back to the isles.
She said a Shetland Energy Act would recognise a clear truth: “islands with limited land mass cannot absorb unlimited industrial development”.
The act would establish statutory protections for Shetland’s land and communities, just as Scotland has already done for places like the Cairngorms National Park.
“With an even more limited land mass and working land and seas already hosting a disproportionate share of energy infrastructure, Shetland deserves similar statutory recognition and protections in law,” Goodlad said.
“Central to all of this is local control over energy developments. At its core, the act would rebalance power back to Shetland, seeking local control over onshore planning decisions so it is Shetland that decides if energy infrastructure goes ahead and on what terms.
“In addition to local control, the act would tie any future consent to meaningful community ownership of any developments, require fair local content so contracts, ports and skills stay local and require a delivery of housing legacy of homes across the isles.
“It would also finally negotiate a Shetland energy tariff – something that is so desperately needed and overdue.”
She added that the current moment echoes the fight for the Zetland County Council (ZCC) Act in the early 1970s.
“The ZCC Act gave us control, power and our ‘oil funds’. We did not get that transformative legislation by waiting quietly in line for our turn. We got it by being organised, united and impossible to ignore.
“Just as oil justified special legislation, the energy transition demands the same.”
She said she would set out further details of the proposed Shetland Energy Act in her forthcoming manifesto.
“This is bigger than party politics. I will be asking every candidate standing in this election to back my proposal and get behind a new Shetland Energy Act,” Goodlad added.
“This is a moment for Shetland to be bold and ambitious, to know our worth, set our terms and secure a future that works for all who call Shetland home.”
The are so far four candidates confirmed to contest the Shetland seat at the May election. They are, in alphabetical order: John Erskine (Labour), Hannah Mary Goodlad (SNP), Emma Macdonald (Lib Dems) and Brian Nugent (Sovereignty).
The Greens have not named their candidate yet, but it is widely expected that Alex Armitage will be confirmed later this month.
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