Meeting of the Parliament 26 October 2017
I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests in relation to farming.
I thank those members whose opening speeches have highlighted the great water resources that we have here in Scotland and highlighted that today’s debate is a consensual one.
Scotland has the wettest climate in the United Kingdom, which many farmers are all too aware of after this season’s stop-start harvest. This has been one of the most difficult harvests for many years; I have to go back to 1985 to remember one as wet as this. It has meant combines stuck in fields, high grain-drying costs and real frustration for our farmers. However, while too much rain can be a nuisance, too little rain is a disaster. In a world that is constantly demanding more food and water, Scotland is in an enviable position, which means that Scotland is green, beautiful and agriculturally productive.
Because of our abundant and pure supplies, Scotland is one of Europe’s leaders in bottled water production—a real growth story, building successful businesses that are taking a big share of the ever-increasing demand for bottled water. Water is instrumental in the production of many of our key food and drink industries. The Scotch whisky industry, which is one of Scotland’s greatest assets, uses large quantities of water throughout the production process. Without adequate supplies of pure, clean water, the whole distilling industry could not survive. Scotch whisky is the top contributor to the UK balance of trade and Scotland’s largest export, and it contributes nearly £5 billion a year to the economy. The industry is built on our natural water resources and our fine malting barley.
I am proud to see that Scotland and the United Kingdom are doing so much internationally to share our knowledge and to help nations all over the world to access clean drinking water and better sanitation—something that we take for granted living in such a water-rich country. Hydro nation contributes to the climate justice fund, which supports work in Malawi, and is a good example of Scotland helping internationally. The UK Government’s Department for International Development is committed to matching the success of the 2011 to 2015 programme by helping at least another 60 million people to get access to clean water and sanitation by 2020. I am pleased to see that the first students who are participating in the hydro nation scholar programme are approaching the completion of their PhD studies. I wish them success for their futures and I hope that they can use their expertise to help with Scotland’s hydro nation future.
Scotland has a long and proud history of hydro power development. The technology is one of the oldest forms of renewable energy in Scotland, with roots going back more than half a century. Indeed, in the north of Scotland way back then, we did not speak about getting electricity installed—we called it “the hydro”.
Scotland also has huge capacity for pumped storage, which is a technology that can bring multiple benefits to the generation system by ensuring that power is always available when it is most needed; it provides power at peak demand and then uses cheap electric at night, when demand is low, to pump water back up to the high dam, ready to be released again the next day. Hydro power already provides around a quarter of Scotland’s renewable energy output, which is the equivalent of 12 per cent of our electricity needs. With significant untapped resources, that home-grown industry has potential to deliver even more.
I have mentioned some of the great benefits of Scotland’s abundant water supply, how we can maximise our potential and how we will continue to share our knowledge and expertise around the world. I welcome the Government’s ambition for Scotland to become a world-leading hydro nation.
16:05