Niall Stuart, CEO of Scottish Renewables, the body representing upwards of 300 renewable energy organisations in Scotland, found himself under evidential pressure in front of Holyrood MSPs a few days ago.
He was appearing in order to present his views on the role of the Crown Estate Commission in the development of offshore renewable energies in Scotland.
In doing so he informed his audience, as the Press Association reported, that his members ‘have a positive view about the Crown Estate’. He also said that the Crown Estate Commission’s ambitions for the future exceeded expectations.
Why he should have thought this surprising, admirable even – given that the CEC earn on the basis of the volume and scale of developments – seems a little odd.
However, Argyll-based Highland and Islands MSP, Mike Mackenzie, then went to work.
He enquired if Mr Stuart thought that the CEC might actually be inhibiting offshore development, setting this in the context of a delicately worded impediment (again reported by the Press Association): ‘I’m thinking perhaps of the lack of local knowledge and sensitivity’.
Having gently trawled this scenario, Mr Mackenzie quickly rammed home the evidence: ‘I;m thinking of the licence that was granted for the Kintyre Array fairly recently, where the developers had to completely walk away as the location was insensitively chosen. I wonder if you feel the Crown Estate Commissioners lack the appropriate sensitivity and local knowledge.’
The able and determined Kintyre Offshore Wind Action Group (KOWAG), whose researched, evidenced and sustained protest against this proposed development was responsible for seeing it off, will smile at the image of Mr Stuart twisting in the wind on that one.
In using this particular example of the CEC’s evidentially untroubled trolley dash on the Scottish seabed, Mr Mackenzie also stripped the credibility from Mr Stuart”s support for the Scottish planning system’s performance. Niall Stuart had defended it against the frequent allegation that it is ‘ like ;going to the casino’.
There can be no doubt that the planners failed miserably in their scrutiny of the proposal for the Kintyre Array wind farm – described as ‘offshore’ when it was so close inshore that it would have been on the toes of the commercially important beach at Machrihanish.
After the challenges from Mr Mackenzie, the best Mr Stuart could do was to try to refute them by saying – again courtesy of the Press Association report: ‘Irrespective of your views on the Crown Estate, the facts are that the UK has by far and away the largest potential market for both offshore wind, with 45GW, and the largest market for wave and tidal power, with 1.6GW.’
This is quite irrelevant as an argument. in defence of the Crown Estate Commission.
The ‘potential market’ for offshore wind and tidal power exists on the basis of Scotland’s physical potential for the generation of these energies.
While it is good to see Mr Mackenzie on top of his game and a bit of a spectator sport to see someone driven back on ropes of their own makings, it is sad to see the genuinely able Niall Stuart getting himself into this sort of mess – and in defence of the indefensible.
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I find it laughable that Mike Mackenzie is involved with a committee looking at Scottish renewable energy, is this the same Mike Mackenzie who made a public statement aimed at the Green party, and I quote,” if the Greens had their way we’d all be living in the dark ages wearing sack cloths.
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