Caithness has done plenty of ‘favours’ for energy firms
Holyrood Notebook by Edward Mountain
The UK government recently conceded the Highlands are “doing a favour for the rest of the country” when it comes to big energy projects.
They’re not wrong.
The key for Labour’s energy minister Michael Shanks, who made the remarks in Westminster and were subsequently reported on these pages, will be coming good on the rest of his pledges.
“We will announce a package of community benefits shortly,” he said, after admitting this part of the world is doing more than most to supply Britain’s future energy demands.
But people across Caithness will be deeply sceptical of this pledge, not least because it echoes a sentiment they have heard all too many times before.
For every onshore windfarm that now dominates our hillsides, spoiling views and visual amenity for thousands, there has been a supposedly robust and thorough consultation phase.
These tend to involve community meetings where suited representatives of wealthy, global firms fly in to tell local people they have nothing to worry about, their house prices won’t be affected by the metamorphosis on their doorstep, and that their communities will be adequately compensated for their troubles.
Years of experience tells us this rarely happens, and almost never to the extent promised.
Does a lick of paint on a village hall make up for steel giants casting long shadows over the surrounding area?
And the trouble is, these firms don’t really have to compensate communities either.
The social value and community benefit of all this is entirely voluntary.
Yes, residents may get lucky and have a responsible developer who genuinely wants to pay something back.
But anecdotal evidence suggests these firms are in the minority.
Once they have secured their planning permission – usually from a council and government which needs the project to hit their own green targets – there is little more to worry about.
The consent is there; it doesn’t matter whether or not they come good on vague pledges set out years before at consultation sessions on cold, winter nights.
So I will be watching with interest to see what Mr Shanks and his Labour government come up with.
After all, this is the government which is closing down the North Sea oil industry, is twiddling its thumbs while Scotland’s only oil refinery – so pivotal to the UK’s energy needs – collapses into extinction, and has no coherent plan either for net zero nor energy security.
People and businesses in the Highlands understand the need to diversify energy production, and are happy to pull their weight when it comes to facilitating it.
But they don’t want soft promises on so-called community benefits that will likely come to nothing.
They need honesty from the big companies and government about what the long-term plan is.
Not a piecemeal programme which changes every year; a proper 25-year strategy which sets out exactly what further sacrifices we have to make here.
Then Caithness might be more willing to listen to a government about how they intend to make the “favour” we are doing for the rest of the country somewhat more worthwhile.
• Edward Mountain is a Scottish Conservative MSP for the Highlands and Islands.
