Civil engineers will call for an expert-led national debate on Scotland’s energy policy in a new report on the issue due to be published next month.
The Institution of Civil Engineers Scotland (ICE), which represents 8,000 members, wants the Scottish Government to ensure the discussion on the pros and cons of wind, nuclear and onshore gas is informed by independent, scientific, expert advice.
The call for an expert-led debate will be included in the institution’s Scottish infrastructure scorecard, which assesses the government’s performance in energy, transport, water/wastewater, flood management and waste.
The report will also highlight Scotland’s energy “quadrilemma” – the need to reduce carbon, cut consumer costs, ensure security of supply and take into account the social acceptability of different types of energy sources.
It will further call on the government to set out how the gap caused by cuts to Scotland’s electricity generating capacity can be filled.
It was announced earlier this year that Longannet, the largest power station in Scotland and the second largest in the UK, will be shut down in March next year after 46 years of producing power.
Debates continue over the potential use of fracking, the controversial gas drilling technique which is currently subject to a Scottish Government moratorium, and the extent to which onshore wind farms are used across Scotland.
Professor Gary Pender, chair of the ICE Scotland committee, said: “Scotland will transition from being a net exporter to being a net importer of electricity if the closures of Longannet, Hunterston and Torness are not replaced by new development.
“We will be calling for a national debate on how we, as a country, deal with this to ensure that we have a resilient supply with sufficient capacity for the long-term.
“Energy policy is hugely politically controversial, with wind power, nuclear power and onshore gas extraction provoking particularly emotional and politically-motivated responses.
“We need to move beyond this, at times, irrational and ill-informed discourse about all these forms of energy generation and conduct a thorough, expert-informed assessment of the right approach for Scotland.
“Energy is the part of Scotland’s infrastructure network which concerns us most and we encourage the Scottish Government, working with the UK Government, to provide a clearly articulated vision for the future. Decisions must be made on evidence and resilience, not on emotion and politics.”
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