Election / Green candidate dismisses SVT report as ‘brazen attempt’ to shore up support for ‘speculative’ project
SHETLAND’s Green candidate at the forthcoming Scottish parliamentary election has come out strongly against the proposal of investing hundreds of millions of pounds into Sullom Voe Terminal to safeguard 400 jobs by 2050.
Alex Armitage suggested there were much better ways of investing up to £300 million into what he called “a speculative course of action”.
On Wednesday, the University of Strathclyde’s Centre for Energy Policy (CEP) published long-awaited research into the possible impact of an early shift to low-carbon fuel production at the terminal.
It found that if no action is taken 234 jobs could be lost over the next ten years, rising to 402 by 2050.
However, this could be avoided, CEP says, if terminal operator EnQuest and its wholly owned subsidiary Veri are supported in its plans to invest £300 million in the first phase of e-fuels production.
More details on the CEP briefing can be found here:
But in a strongly worded response to yesterday’s news, Armitage described the research as a “breathless policy briefing” and suggested that this amount of money could be spent more wisely.
“When I read this briefing from a seemingly reputable university department, specifically urging public backing for a corporate energy project, I smelt a rat,” the Green councillor said.
“The energy transition presents a threat to corporate power, as lower density renewable resources of the sun, wind and tide lend themselves to smaller scale, decentralised energy developments, controlled by local communities.
“This briefing is a brazen attempt by corporations to frustrate this process and shore up power and control within the corporate energy sector.
“EnQuest are effectively asking for £300 million of government money to save 402 jobs at Sullom Voe. Surely there are far less speculative ways to invest £750,000 per worker?
“Powerful corporations are accumulating money and power into the bank accounts of the super-rich at the expense of people and planet.
“This isn’t a political soundbite, it’s the underlying reason why too many of us live in cold homes and struggle to pay our energy bills, it’s the reason why our schools, councils and hospitals are underfunded, it’s the reason why so many folk are suffering with poor mental health and destitution.
“Instead of investing £300 million in an energy corporation involved in a highly speculative course of action, the government could invest £300 million in a Sullom Voe transition fund which could provide far better long-term economic security for the working people of Shetland.”
The four other candidates standing in the election have all been contacted for comment.
They are in alphabetical order: John Erskine (Labour), Hannah Mary Goodlad (SNP), Emma Macdonald (Lib Dems) and Brian Nugent (Sovereignty).
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