SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT MUST DELIVER GREATER REVENUES
TO END “FUEL POOR SCOTS IN ENERGY RICH SCOTLAND”
AND GUARANTEE SUPPLY CHAIN JOBS.
Kenny MacAskill MP for East Lothian and ALBA Party Depute Leader has today (Friday) launched a paper, Scotwind – The Great Scottish Energy Sell Out at a News Conference held at 10.30 am in Rocksalt Café, 46 Constitution Street, Leith, Edinburgh EH6 6RS.
Mr MacAskill called for “Scotland to power ahead, so that we can benefit from the massive potential which exists in renewable energy, as well as the business and work that should be coming along with it.” He accused the Scottish Government of being “asleep at the wheel” and issued a stark warning that “they will never be forgiven if they do not guarantee the supply chain jobs which have been promised”.He went on to state: “Families are facing rising fuel bills and a cost of living crisis at the same time as the Scottish Government is failing to capitalise on the revenues which would help to lift 1 in 3 (874,000) of our households out of fuel poverty and end the scandal of poor fuel Scots in energy rich Scotland.”
Speaking at the News Conference Kenny MacAskill MP said:
“With Scotland possessing 25% of Europe’s offshore energy potential now is the time for Scotland to power ahead, so that we can benefit from the massive potential which exists in renewable energy, as well as the business and work that should be coming along with it. Work that could regenerate working class communities and provide a prosperous and sustainable future for them and their families.
“The truth is that Scotland’s offshore energy is being sold off, but not just that, the country is being sold out, both in terms of the revenues from the Scotwind auction and also in terms of the manufacturing and supply chain jobs that should be coming to Scotland.
“The paper I have launched today contrasts the difference between the spin of what is being promised with the actual reality of what is happening on the ground.
“It shows that Scotland is losing out in revenues from the Scotwind auction compared with other offshore wind lease auctions that have taken place in other parts of the World such as New York. Just contrast the £700 million revenues in Scotland for 25 GW with New York Bight, an offshore wind auction in the USA, which saw $4.37 billion dollars received for 5.6 GW, the most successful offshore wind lease auction in history.
“Scotland will get less than a quarter of the cash for a field that is four times the size or to put it another way New York generated staggering revenues for a field that is only a quarter of the size of Scotland.
“So why so much given away and for such a paltry price? While a maximum sum was set for Scotwind, New York Bight was not capped, and bidding went into the stratosphere. Scotland has been sold short with too much sold off for too little.
“The paper also makes clear that unless the Scottish Government acts now to put in place proper checks on delivery and introduces enforcement sanctions Scotland will lose out on the supply chain jobs that are being promised. That must not be allowed to happen.
“Scotland has produced only around one in 20 of the offshore wind jobs forecast by ministers, with the Office of National Statistics affirming that for the fourth year in a row, green jobs have decreased.
“The overwhelming majority of turbines are being constructed abroad and that will continue, as Scottish yards lie idle unless the Scottish Government takes action to prevent work from going offshore or to businesses located elsewhere.
“Finally the paper demonstrates that The Eastern HVDC (High Voltage Direct Current Subsea Cable) is going ahead without any revenues being generated and without any guarantees being given on supply chain jobs.
“This muilti-billion pound transmission project to supply up to 4GW of power from Scotland to England, through a high voltage direct subsea power transmission system, should be generating revenues and jobs but as answers obtained from Scottish Ministers shows the Scottish Government is ‘asleep at the wheel’.
“This isn’t just inertia on the part of government but yet another example of working class communities being sold out. The Scottish Government must wake up and realise that they will never be forgiven if they do not guarantee the supply chain jobs which have been promised.”
Concluding Mr MacAskill said:
“Families are facing rising fuel bills and a cost of living crisis at the same time as the Scottish Government is failing to capitalise on the revenues which would help to lift 1 in 3 (874,000) of our households out of fuel poverty and end the scandal of poor fuel Scots in energy rich Scotland.”
“The Oil and Gas bounty that Scotland was blessed with has been piped south. Now it is offshore wind energy that is being cabled south. Scotland is once again being ripped off. Scottish assets are being sold off and Scottish citizens sold out. Its time Scottish Ministers faced up to their responsibilities and acted to end the Great Scottish Energy Sell Out. They must deliver the revenues we need and guarantee the supply chain jobs our communities expect.”
BETRAYED BY SCOTLAND’S FM. Looks like Sturgeon is determined to destroy Scotland. We MUST stop her.
When Sturgeon went on the grand tour like a president the claim of right was burned by the New SNP and the only person in the whole of Scotland who had a say about anything in my opinion is the worst F*cking leader we have even had in Scottish history. When a leader of any country takes the National flag down in order to attend a conference like Cop26 says it all for me. I said it years ago and I’ll say it again if Scotland ever becomes Independent it won’t be the whole of Scotland as we know it and history will look back and blame only one person and one party (NS and the New SNP) but for anyone in there fifties I no longer believe you’ll see Independence in your lifetime thanks to the one person and one party in Scottish politics.
I will state this as a fact, NS sold Wind to punish us for questioning the way she is handling Indyref2, god help anyone who stands in her way look what happened to a friend and mentor for 30yrs.
By the time Sturgeon raine is finnished, so will the dream of securing indyref and this in her angenda nothing more.
Sturgeon the trojan horse nationalist , the enemy within.
As Kenny MacAskill points out in New York a world record amount of $4.37bn was raised by the sale of 6 licences to produce “up to” 7 gigawatts of “clean” energy once fully developed. Assuming the quality of energy is the same as that of the Scottish offshore wind energy, and allowing for the current £:$ exchange rate of 1: 1 32 (25th March 2022), this equates to £3.31bn. The gigawatt rate for the New York sale is thus £472 and compares to the Scottish sale rate of £28 (that is, 25 gigawatts for £700m). In effect the rate for New York Bight is just under 17 times the rate achieved for the ScotWind sale.
That is truly astonishing and just goes to demonstrate how out of their depth and utterly incompetent the Scottish Government were in agreeing the ScotWind auctions. The SNP negotiators are truly rank amateurs.
Just think how bad Scotland would end up when we achieve indy if sturgeon and her fellow moronic prawns are left to negotiate the disbursement of assets held jointly by england and Scotland , it doesn’t bear thinking about it is literally the stuff of nightmares
Apparently Ivan Mckie is the one with the most experience business wise and was discussing the freeport situation with WM but was being stubborn and insisting on certain criteria being adhered to , so sturgeon being the betrayer unionist that she is removes McKie and inserts Kate Forbes to negotiate the deal and WM and the tories win again while Scotland loses , rinse and repeat for ANY deal done by sturgeons numpties
I think its more complex than that , real estate wherever it is will command a price due to its rarity
and if anyone considered the name of the US Auction “New York Bight” then Googled they would find
its basically on the River Mouth just outside New York and quite far inshore too.
So by looking at the map we can see where the “one Auction” but for 6 Windmill seperate areas of
Seabed is located, its quite far inshore and considering the amount of Sea Freight Traffic heading
up and down river to the Port of New York quite a rare oppertunity as Sea Lanes will have to be left
for Ship Traffic and there is a hell of a lot of it in the New York Bay Area compared with bonnie Scotland
So lets be honest a rare peice of Seabed in the bay of New York isn’t going to cost the same as areas
for sale around the mostly empty coast of Scotland at all.
Not just that but the previous Auction in the same areas was also for a record price (but smaller) at the time.
Why am i thinking now that we are being had ? https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/wind-power/new-york-bight-5-takeaways-from-the-record-breaking-offshore-wind-auction/#gref
I have now tried to comment five times in The National about this very topic, comparing the windfarm auctions off New York and New Jersey and the screaming inconsistency between the $4.37 billion raked in there and the measly 700 million pounds that the dunderheids in the Scottish Govt. made. If they had got the same price it would have been 12 billion pounds instead of 700 million.
The comments I made never appear. The story is just too infuriating to publish. There is absolutely no excuse for the Scottish Govt.. Primary schoolkids could have got a better deal.
I noticed Roddy that you deleted my 2 comments in the previous thread , I wholeheartedly agree with Kenny that Scottish working class people and the poorest are being sold out by the sturgeon cabal of deviants and perverts to the parasitical energy companies , but unfortunately I still feel Kenny and ALBA are being too gentlemanly and respectful they appear to be offering advice and a get out by insisting that supply chain jobs must be assured , I posted that ALBA and ISP should be screaming this BETRAYAL from the rooftops and making assurances that ALBA would NOT HAVE LET THIS HAPPEN if they had gained seats at HR
IMO this is an opportunity to GAIN prominence and credibility of the voters by EXPOSING the snp total ineptitude to capitalise on Scotland’s resources and their failure and lies to form the much promised and vaunted STATE ENERGY COMPANY
I didnt delete anything
Something “strange” going on because, like Twathater, my comment also vanished.
No I am at Conference taking me longer to get to comnents
Apologies Roddy I noticed they turned up
Sturgeon and her chums are dancing around their handbags laughing at us, taking us for mooncalfs. But can’t you feel the change in the air, Sturgeons time is drawing to an end .
With the bill of rights being exposed, her flawed section 30 strategy will be highlighted for what it is a lie to keep us in the Union .Her referendum on a rigged voting franchise is a default button for the Union and is still a danger. Boris will take a chance on a section 30 rather than let the Scottish people reclaim their sovereignty a battle he knows he will not win. Even the Numpties in the I love Nicola clut will see that they have been played, they all must go.
When we get independence Sturgeons name will be used to frighten small children who wont do as they are told. This will be her legacy, undoubtedly worst Leader we have had the misfortune to have had. Soar Alba , Desolve the Union.
Thank-you, Kenny.
It’s all in black and white now. And there is nowhere for Scot Gov to hide on this disrespectful treatment of Scotland’s economy, Scotland’s workforce, and Scotland’s unique and valuable natural resources.
I say thanks, Kenny… Because it’s always better to know. But it’s a hard one this… Our SNP is selling Scotland on the cheap to big business. There is not even a guarantee that the wind energy will come through Scottish mainland. What’s the betting they’re planning to land that in England as well?
Maybe not all that Black and White, Property in the Bay of New York brings high prices https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/wind-power/new-york-bight-5-takeaways-from-the-record-breaking-offshore-wind-auction/#gref
Sturgeon is not fit to be leader of the Scottish Govt. She doesn’t cut it. Scotland’s future would be better served with Alba at the helm. It’s essential we get Alba into Holyrood and put Sturgeon on the backfoot. The quicker she’s out of Scottish Politics the better. We’re going nowhere under her.
For me its not a matter of them being “Asleep at the wheel”..More like its they do not know what they are doing. It shows up in every single deal they make. The Ferries, Airport, Hospitals. Sturgeon signing that deal with the 2 Chinamen who only owned a pub in Norwich. Here again once more she was forewarned about these two guys but forged ahead.
All these things pale into insignificance when compared to the Gupta Deal i’m told is
going to be a much bigger scandal financially. Perhaps it might finally brong Her down.
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/scottish-taxpayers-face-586-million-25486085
Does the term “Taran Tory ” fit here ? https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/fergus-ewings-dinner-with-greensill-and-gupta-prompts-call-for-inquiry-xcldjkp3j
Ewing is no stranger to controversy. http://parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2019/09/08/fergus-ewing-and-the-unlawful-felling-of-trees-at-carrbridge/