First Minister defends wind farm industry
Reacting to a letter from the First Minister to the Prime Minister asking for a reprieve for windfarm schemes in the planning pipeline, Dr Richard Dixon, Director of Friends of the Earth Scotland, said:
“Nicola Sturgeon’s welcome intervention makes the sensible suggestion that windfarms already in the planning system should be allowed to get UK Government support if they get planning permission. This proposal would safeguard jobs and many millions of pounds of investment, as well as help reduce future climate change emissions. We hope the Prime Minister is listening.
“Scotland has an energy policy based on a transition to clean, green energy but this puts us in conflict with the UK Government’s anti-renewables, pro-nuclear, pro-fracking plans. There is no reason that subsidy policies could not be different north and south of the border to acknowledge the different resources and priorities in Scotland. Funding renewables in Scotland is much better for money than funding nuclear in England.
“The UK Government says it wants to be a leader at the Paris climate talks at the end of the year. It is very hard to see how this claim can have a shred of credibility when they continue to slash investment in green energy.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
BBC exclusive: SNP demands wind farm subsidy U-turn http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-33631457
Declare your support for the energy revolution to stop dirty fossil fuels and bring power to people through community-owned renewables: http://www.foe-scotland.org.uk/energy-rev
Friends of the Earth Scotland is:
Scotland's leading environmental campaigning organisation
An independent Scottish charity with a network of thousands of supporters and active local groups across Scotland
Part of the largest grassroots environmental network in the world, uniting over 2 million supporters, 75 national member groups, and some 5,000 local activist groups.