Next government must ensure Scots get ‘fair share’ of green wealth – campaigners

The next Scottish Government must ensure ordinary Scots get a “fair share of our renewable energy wealth”, a campaign group has said.

The comments by the Our Power campaign came as a poll found half (50%) of Scots blamed the “greed of energy companies” for high bills, while 45% said profit-making companies are the “top concern” when it comes to the country’s transition to renewables.

The poll also found around two thirds of Scots are in favour of energy projects owned by communities (63%) and local authorities (68%), while 64% are in favour of publicly-owned wind manufacturing.

The poll also found 95% of Scots think it is important renewable energy projects generate money for nearby communities.

Our Power campaign spokesperson Liam Hainey said: “The energy crises of the past few years have seen huge profiteering by some energy companies, so it’s not a shock that Scots are concerned about private firms becoming the biggest winners from the shift to renewables.

“The next Scottish Government now has a chance to make sure the shift to clean energy benefits everyone – through more public ownership, both nationally and locally, and more investment to build a secure, wind manufacturing base and create jobs in Scotland.

“We have everything we need to win big from the transition to renewable energy, but are currently missing out. We need more ambition – and fewer excuses from the next Scottish government – to ensure that Scotland doesn’t miss out and ordinary Scots get a fair share of our renewable energy wealth.”

The survey, which was carried out by polling firm More in Common, also found more than half of Scots (53%) want the Scottish Government to take at least a 20% stake in every new, offshore wind project to generate public revenue.

Meanwhile, three quarters (77%) said renewable energy developers should be required to create new jobs in the area.

The Our Power campaign is a coalition of organisations including Community Energy Scotland, Friends of the Earth Scotland, Stop Climate Chaos Scotland, Platform and Uplift.

Flick Monk, community and public energy campaigner at Platform, said: “As we build more and more renewable energy, the critical question that will make or break this transition is who should own and profit from it.

“It’s crystal clear that people want control and ownership of the energy transition, and benefits to be shared fairly across Scotland.

“We have a choice: wind farms can fund community centres, local transport and nature restoration, or we can let multinationals syphon profits for shareholders as communities struggle to make ends meet.

“The Scottish Government must take a stand against energy company private profits and put communities first. It’s time for renewable power to be taken into public hands to make it fairer, more accountable, and a source of pride for future generations.”

Liz Murray, policy manager at Community Energy Scotland, said: “It’s not surprising the public overwhelmingly supports community ownership of renewable energy, when you see all the potential benefits.

“Scottish communities who own their own wind turbines, hydro power and solar arrays have used the electricity and the income generated to improve housing, provide community transport, re-open or set up local pubs, cafes, small business units and community gardens – which also bring good, local jobs.

“Given these huge rewards, we want to see the next Scottish Government ramp up opportunities for more communities to own their own energy and for parties across the political spectrum to give this their support.”

The polling was commissioned by Platform, and was carried out between January 24 and February 3, with a sample size of 1,017 people.