Alex Russell: No one can accurately predict when, if ever, the cornerstone of that policy, the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant, will be built. Amber Rudd, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, has not only put UK’s energy eggs in this one basket but, as an interim measure, championed the use of UK-produced shale gas to generate the power to keep the lights on. This stance is a blatant panic measure that defies logic. Scotland currently has imposed a moratorium on fracking for gas and on undersea coal gasification. Given Rudd’s strident claims for the benefits from fracking of huge job creation, energy security and thwarting the economic ambitions of Russia, it is not surprising that a Conservative councillor Ross Thomson has taken up the cudgels and is challenging the continuation of the moratorium in Scotland. A reversal of the decision to impose a moratorium on fracking would be a kick in the teeth for those Scots who joined the SNP after the referendum and who believe in a better approach to economics and equality. It could derail the independence bandwagon.
Energy Voice 29th March 2016 read more »