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Meeting of the Parliament 18 June 2013

18 Jun 2013 · S4 · Meeting of the Parliament

Item of business

Hydro Power

McArthur, Liam LD Orkney Islands Watch on SPTV

As Margaret McDougall rightly said, we have already had a historical tour de force. I particularly commend Rob Gibson’s speech, in that respect.

On the 70th anniversary of the Hydro-Electric Development (Scotland) Act 1943, which was the product of what Ken Macintosh rightly observed was an impressive cross-party consensus as well as the drive of Stewart Stevenson’s friend Tom Johnston, it is fitting that we take time to reflect on the contribution that hydro power has made over that time. It has powered homes, businesses and our economy, and has provided a welcome boon to the Highlands, as others have said. Like the minister, I hope that that will be improved on in the coming decades across the Highlands and Islands with the development of a wider range of renewables technologies, including wave and tidal energy technologies in my constituency.

What of the future for hydro power? As the most mature of the renewables technologies, there is perhaps a risk, or a public misconception, that hydro technology has run its course and that the opportunities for developing new projects have been exhausted. As we have already heard, that is far from being the case. Advances in technology are opening up new opportunities—from large to relatively small—but there is a range of challenges in taking forward those opportunities. I argue that it is not sensible to think that all the potential opportunities could or should be taken forward. I will come to some of the issues that the sector faces shortly.

Like Rob Gibson, I think that it is worth acknowledging that, if we are to have a balanced energy mix with a proper and healthy technology mix as part of the policy, we will need to go beyond 12 per cent of our electricity needs being met by hydro, as is currently the case. We must consider how we can capture more of our hydro potential, including the estimated 1.2GW of smaller-scale hydro power, much of which would be ideally suited to community owned and run initiatives. Claire Baker made a number of very helpful points about the benefits of such projects.

I turn to some of the obstacles that we face in trying to deliver our considerable potential in hydro energy. I am grateful to the various organisations that supplied briefings for the debate, including Scottish Renewables and RWE. Scottish Renewables might have reflected a little more on the issues for which we have responsibility in Parliament, but it set out the wider context, which is helpful.

The concerns about support mechanisms and delays in provision of grid infrastructure are clearly not new; they reflect similar anxieties that are felt across the renewables sector. However, as I have done in previous debates, I urge a little caution on those who seek to make the heroic leap in arguing that those concerns make the case for breaking up the United Kingdom. What Scottish Renewables and its members, including those in the hydro sector, are arguing is that delays in taking decisions must be minimised, support mechanisms need to be fully thought through, and the necessary infrastructure must be put in place in a timely fashion. Reform of the current market regime must properly reflect Scottish interests, of course, but nowhere is it suggested that segmenting the market is sensible, that tapping our hydro potential requires wholesale transfer of powers, or that stepping outside the electricity market reform process is either realistic or desirable.

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Meeting of the Parliament 18 June 2013

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